Students Inside Albany Conference (SIA) & Local League Youth Programs
The League of Women Voters of New York State believes that a vital democracy requires educating, empowering, and engaging young people to maintain the democracy. Through the League’s Education Foundation, the State League and many local Leagues operate programs that provide students with the information, motivation, and skills to become informed voters and engaged citizens. The State League’s primary youth program is Students Inside Albany. Email the State League office for more information on any of these programs.
This Conference is an intensive four day training experience held in the spring and is designed to
immerse students in the process by which public policy is proposed, enacted and changed in New York State and educate them as to how they can influence and affect this process. Albany insiders discuss the operations of New York State government including how policy is shaped and enacted. Students develop knowledge of the disparate forces that influence policy development. Additionally, students are afforded the opportunity to observe Assembly and Senate sessions and to shadow both their Assembly members and Senators.
SIA continues to expand and has the greatest involvement by different leagues throughout the state. The LWVNYS provides not only the administration of this program, the materials that leagues can use to find the students to represent the league, but also pays for the entire cost of the four day program for one student from each league with the exclusion of the trip to and from Albany. If any local league wishes to send a 2nd student, there is a cost of approximately $650.00 to cover the expense. Many leagues have used their other youth programs (names, descriptions of these programs, and contact people appear on this site) as a way to identify students to represent them in Albany. Leagues like the LWVNYC have given extra recognition to their representatives.
***2020 STUDENT INSIDE ALBANY CONFERENCE (SIA) – CANCELLED
