The YMCA Youth Conference on National Affairs (CONA) is a gathering of High School students from across the Nation at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly. Each State’s YMCA Youth and Government Program selects a delegation to represent their state at the national conference. All of the delegates write a proposal that they feel is important on a state, regional, national, or global scale. Each proposal must then pass through a system of committee hearings before it may be presented to the general assembly. Delegates from each of the fifty states are invited to attend, and delegations from as far away as Russia and India have attended past conferences. CONA not only allows to students the opportunity to expand their knowledge of governmental systems, but also allows them to experience the political views and issues faced by the top students from every part of our Nation.