Whether the event is Teen Summit, Issues Conference or Teen Conference, the impact that it has on the county 4-H program is so valuable.  Below you will find the statistics from this year's Issues Conference.

The Kentucky 4-H Issues Conference was started in 1989. Since its inception, the conference schedule has changed, but the focus and goals have not. The goals of the KY 4-HIC are for Delegates to:

• Enrich their citizenship/civic engagement roles
• Enhance their leadership skills
• Develop public presentation skills
• Gain an understanding of local issues
• Learn the process of addressing local issues

During the four-day intensive conference, a partnership occurs between the Delegates (youth) and the Facilitators (adult) which leads to a successful learning experience. Delegates were involved in 20 hours of hands-on experiences during the 2017 KY 4-HIC. Below are the results of the initial evaluation conducted after the conference.

• 95% of respondents felt the Conference was a success and achieved its goals.
• 91% of respondents are able to communicate with peers who are different than themselves.
• 91% of respondents have used the decision-making process taught during 4-HIC.
• 91% of respondents have confidence to speak in front of groups of different ages.
• 90% of respondents connected with at least one caring adult in a positive way.
• 99% of respondents have used skills learned during 4-HIC at home, in school, or in their community.
• 100% of respondents would recommend their peers attend the KY 4-H Issues Conference.

50 females and 25 males  attended the conference.   70 of the participants were White/Caucasian,3 were Black or African American, 1 was American Indian and 1 was Native Hawaiian.

One of the highlights of the Issues Conference is the fact that participants can write a grant proposal and implement a new idea into their county program.  So much is learned in writing a grant from creating a budget to increasing communication skills.  This is a conference that every county should have teens attend.