The IDEA Weekly Blog-Style

The IDEA Weekly, Volume 139

July 17, 2007

Dear INN Readers,

I hope this issue of the Weekly finds you well. I’m at the IDEA Debate and Citizen Journalism Institute in Duino, Italy. The camp ends on Saturday, and I think it has been a great experience for all involved. At Duino, we have Institute participants from twenty countries, ranging in age from 15-51, who are taking an assortment of debate and citizen journalism classes. I’ve seen some great debates and watched inspiring news stories created by the students here. The staff has done a wonderful job of keeping students interested and engaged—not an easy task when the beach is less than a kilometer away! A Duino heat wave hit yesterday, so we’re all keeping our fingers crossed for a breeze and some rain! For the latest on Duino and the Youth Forum, go to idebate.blogspot.com, see materials on our Wiki at www.idebate.org/wiki, and listen to IDEA radio. See you at Forum…next week. ~Arminda

TPS Global Debates 2007-2008

If you haven’t heard the buzz on the TPS Global Debates yet, be sure to check out the details at www.thepeoplespeak.org. This year, TPS looks different from years past. For the TPS Global Debates, you can get involved by organizing a debate at your school on the topic: “Resolved: Market mechanisms are preferable to regulatory approaches in reducing carbon emissions.” The coolest part? You and five other people from your school could with a trip to the U.N. Youth Summit in New York July 2008! There are also lots of other prizes and special benefits for IDEA members! For more information, go to The People Speak’s website and register. There is additional information on IDEA’s website at www.idebate.org/thepeoplespeak. Learn how you can become involved in the Global Debates today!

The TPS Global Debates Festival in Haiti

As part of this year's the People Speak Global Debates, IDEA and its partner, Fokal, are pleased to invite high school debaters to the first international debate event it is hosting in Haiti. The event will take place in the beautiful city of Jacmel October 31^st—November 4^th, 2007. The festival will feature a five round debate tournament as well as training, discussions and cultural activities. All high schools who register for the TPS Global Debates 2007 will be eligible for participation in the Global Debates Festival. You can see more information about this event on IDEA’s website.

More about Duino

If you wanted to sign up to attend the Duino Debate and Citizen Journalism Institute this year, but circumstances prohibited you from doing so, plan on attending next year! The Institute offers a variety of Debate and Journalism courses, and we hope to expand on our course offerings for next year. The Institute also includes excursions. This year, we traveled into Venice twice and will be going to Trieste tomorrow. The Institute will be open to high school students, university students, and post graduates next year. Don’t miss out!

Youth Forum Updates

Up until the Forum, please continue to visit www.ideayouthforum.org. Also, please watch your inboxes: Ioana has been sending out new information daily! Also, remember that payment for the Youth Forum must be received prior to your arrival. You can view payment details at the bottom of your invoice, which is automatically generated on www.idebate.org/tournaments. Registration for the Forum has ended. If you registered for the Forum, but have decided not to attend, please remove your registration from the registration page or inform Forum organizers, so we can remove it for you. Lastly, if you haven’t sent your travel information to René, you need to do so immediately! Rene0014@iol.cz