Conference on National Affairs
For over 50 years, students from across the country have been convening in the mountains of North Carolina each summer to debate national and international issues and form friendships that last a lifetime.
The YMCA Conference on National Affairs (CONA) is a five-day conference that allows students who participated in Youth in Government to experience a new level of debate and a sense of camaraderie and statehood.
Approximately 35 delegates are selected each year to represent Minnesota and Wisconsin at this premiere leadership conference
June 27-July 4, 2025 CONA looked a little different than in years past. Damage sustained from a hurricane in September 2024, YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly was unable to host this year. Instead, students traveled to Appalachian State University in Boone North Carolina.
35 students from Minnesota and Wisconsin made up the “Minnesconsin” delegation. Around 800 total students from around the country came together. Student, Wesley Friberg described it as, “CONA is a think tank- students bring ideas that are important to them at state, national and an international level, these are their proposals, and then in committees, students discuss and debate logistics, feasibility, and the important ideas.”
Proposals are ranked, and by the end of the conference, 10 proposals are sent to the General Assembly. This year, Maitreya Reeder was the one Minnesota student to get her bill to the General Assembly.
CONA is about the People
For Wesley, he had a long list of reasons why CONA is such an important experience. “Public speaking experience is a given- you are doing a lot of it. The people you are interacting and debating with are the best of the best from their state. You meet incredible people and form connections stronger than any bond you create anywhere else. That’s the thing that makes it so special.”
Wesley attended CONA as a media representative, so during the conference, he and the media team worked together to shoot photos and videos, create daily broadcasts to report on what was happening each day.
Click the links below to check out some of the work Wesley and his media team put together-
CONA is always looking for volunteers to help write proposals, be a committee leader or share their time and experience in any capacity. If you are a CONA alum, consider getting involved as a volunteer!