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WA State 4-H Teen Events & Opportunities

Visit the WA State 4-H Youth Webpage to explore opportunities!

4-H Youth Leadership Conference

Held the 2nd Saturday of December in Snohomish County, usually at the WSU campus in Everett.

Open to 4-H juniors, intermediates, and seniors, this conference gives youth an opportunity to learn many leadership skills, including the roles of club officer positions.

Registration is through 4-H Online.

Know Your Government Conference

Know Your Government logo.

February 13-16, 2026
with required Pre-Conference Meetings held 10 am to Noon on Saturdays, January 10, 17, and 24.

If you are interested in participating, please contact the 4-H Office at 425-357-6044 | snoco.4h@wsu.edu.

What is KYG?

Know Your Government (KYG) is a civic education program with a four-year rotating topic: The Legislative Process, The Judicial System, Elections and Party Platforms, and Politics and the Media. This year we are exploring the Legislative process.

KYG and 4-H are about learning the life skills our delegates will need to be responsible citizens and productive adults. This program is for high school students.

The conference is an opportunity for delegates to practice the skills they have learned, apply their knowledge to unknown situations and reflect on how they did.

Learn more by watching this video.

Statewide Conference

Purpose: To bring high school students from across the state to share ideas, concerns, and potential solutions to problems; to learn about Washington State government and how to become a positive contributing citizen; and to strengthen the connection between youth and our political and social networks through education, experience, application, and inspiration.

A value of 4-H KYG is that it provides the opportunity for our delegates to explore new ideas and perspectives in a safe environment. We encourage delegates with different views to work together, not to change each other’s minds, but to learn from each other. Encouraging discussion when people disagree and providing an opportunity to explore the issue in a non-threatening way demonstrates to the delegates that they can disagree on an issue but still work together. Ideally, these discussions will help delegates explore why they carry a certain belief and assist them in putting their own beliefs into practice. Remember, one of the intentional life skills we are focusing on this year is communication.

Pre-conference Meetings

Purpose: Teach the skills, provide the tools, and prepare for the project at the KYG Conference.

Participants will learn how to work as part of a team, with people they may or may not know, to get the pre-conference objectives completed. The pre-conference meetings are a way for delegates to hone these skills so when they get to the conference, they will be prepared to learn the new skills, practice and apply already learned skills, and work with more people they do not know. Perhaps even more important than this, they will have an experience that is similar (not necessarily identical) to those of other delegates. Similar experiences will provide a common foundation for all delegates, regardless of geographic, political or other differences.

Learning something new and working with other delegates with different perspectives can be uncomfortable.  Pre-conference meetings are a way to help delegates feel comfortable about what will be happening at the conference so they feel safe to experience something new.



Panel on stage at Ignite by 4-H conference.

4-H State Teen Conference


Who
: 8th – 12th grade youth
What: A three-day conference with workshops and tours focused on career exploration, college readiness, leadership, and life skill development.
When: June 23-26, 2025
Where: Pullman Campus of Washington State University

Registration will be limited to 150 youth and will open in Spring 2025.

Visit the WSU Teen Conference Webpage for more information.