WUDC Round9 recorded debates

WUDC Round9 motion: TH believes that social movements should use the courts rather than the legislature to advance social change

Sydney D v Sydney C v Cambridge A v Oxford C


Cornell B v UCD L&H A v Pennsylvania A v Alberta A



Monash E v Leiden B v UCCPhil v UBC A

WUDC Round8 recorded debates

WUDC R8 motion: THB that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Should Pursue Political Union

r28: Fordham B v Yale C v Melbourne D v Yale A

r21: Bandung A v Bath A v CMU Qatar B v Lahore B

r29: Chubgang A v Makerere A v HKPoly C v Resid B

WUDC Round7 recorded debates

WUDC Round 7 motion: This house would require individual to reveal their actual identity when communicating on the internet

r28: Alberta C v Trinity B v UCD L&H A v ADMU A


r21: Harthouse C v UCD L&H B v Aberystwyth A v LSE C


r29: London A v UQ A v Sydney B v Alaska A

WUDC Round6 recorded debates

WUDC Round6 motion: This house would deny teachers unions the right to strike

r28: Wikfrid B v Standford C v Colgate A v Aberystwyth A

r21: TMU A v UT Marat C v Jersey A v CNA QATAR A

r29: UQ B v Grovecity B v McGill B v Melbourne E

WUDC Round5 recorded debates

WUDC Round 5 Motion: THW prioritise asylum seekers who have engaged in armed struggle against oppressive regimes

r28: Namibia a v Hawaii a v Cornell e v IIUM A


r21: Lesotho A v DLSU A v Namibia B v Inner Temple A


r29: Tel Aviv A v UMac B v NTU C v Princeton C

WUDC Round4 recorded debates

WUDC Round4 motion: THBT independent central banks should set limits on government spending.

room r28: HKPOLY C v Waseda A v Paris A v DIKTIA A

Adjudicators feedback

room r29: Queens B v SMU A v IIUM B v Yale C

room r21: BFSU B v GalwayLit B v Botswana A v Manitoba A

Due to encountered problems with ustream.tv servers this livestream wasn't succeesfully recorded.

WUDC Round3 recorded debates

WUDC Round3 motion:THBT govs should not provide benefits on the basis of marital status

room 28: UCD b v Sydney F v KOC A v NTU A

room 29 ANU B v Vermont D v Binus A v Yale B (Incomlete due to Internet connection problems)

WUDC Round2 recorded debates

Round2 Motion: THBT all countries have the right to possess nuclear weapons


Red028 NTU B v NUSC C v Macaupoly A v Duke C


Red021: Munich A v Monash B v Middletemp A v Bristol B


Red029: Jersey A v Queens B v Sophia A v UTMara A

WUDC Round1 recorded debates

Round 1 Motion: This house believes that national sporting teams should reflect the diversity of the national population.

Room C028


Room C029


Room C021

3 more days to organize & 6 more days to submit!

We are excited to be announcing that there are only 3 days left for you to complete your The Global Debates activities! Because we do not want technicalities to come into play and prevent you from submitting all your hard work, we will accept submissions until midnight Greenwich time on December 18, 2010.

Please beware that all TGD activities MUST take place no later than on December 15.

Note: In order to be fair to everyone, we will not accept activities that take place later than December 15 and/or those that are submitted later than December 18.
If you wish to send us materials via regular post, please write us an email about this intention and send it no later than December 18 (date on postmark counts!). The same rules as with electronic submission apply!

Debate Park51 and win, win, win

The Park51 debates are starting soon and I know many of you will be thinking why should I spend my precious time and brainwaves on this one particular issue? What's in it for me? Because, dear friends, of the prizes. Lots of lovely, lovely, prizes.

Seriously. Everyone who completes both the two main online debates – one arguing in favor of Park51 being built, one arguing against – will win a gorgeous t-shirt. The best debating teams will win a stunning trophy – one to take pride of place on any mantelpiece. Last, but definitely not least, we’ve got ten signed copies to give away of the fantastic book "New York Masjid: The Mosques of New York City."

Though of course, the ultimate thing you’ll win is invaluable knowledge of how to debate both sides of a controversial argument and how to take other people’s views into consideration, even if you strongly disagree with them.

You can see the prizes here: http://debatepark51.org/index.php/reason/debate-online/what-can-i-win

So sign up, sign up. You’ll lose a little time but at the very least will gain some extra clothing in return. Plus a boosted brain and I know how the very smart people on this list love one of those.

The Global Debates Newsletter November 1

45 days to go! - November 1

Featured in this issue :

• 15 more days to submit your essay for the IDEA Global Challenge!
• Stories and updates from the TGD contest
• News and The Global Debates International Migration Portal!
• Feature of the week – Organize your public debate!
• Our partners help us spread the word!
• Frequently asked questions

15 days to submit your essay for the IDEA Global Challenge! Great rewards for joining in!

Don't forget to submit an essay summarizing the best arguments and evidence you gathered for your public debate on the topic of: Nations of the world should increase protection of the economic and social rights of migrants.
Your essay should present your team’s best arguments for the proposition, the team arguing in favor of the resolution. Aim for 3-5 double-spaced pages. And don't forget to send it to us by November 15!

And what can you win?

• The prize winning essays will be featured in the next issue of Idebate Magazine and posted on idebate.org and The Global Debates website
• The top 10 entries will earn 500 bonus points for the Global Debates
• the top two Global Debate Challenge Fall 2010 Campaign entries will win 50% fee waiver for the 2011 IDEA Youth Forum, which takes place from July 19-August 1, 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Submit your best work and aim for the top prizes!

Stories and updates from the TGD contest
Rebecca Kuhn and her team from Bugil Academy (Korea) played the PlayDecide migration game. Along with her friends, they agreed on adopting the policy nr 3, with the following addendum: Nations must accept immigrants with refugee status defined by the UN. Furthermore individual nations could additionally decide further acceptance of immigrants undefined by the UN such as climate refugees.

Kristen Dupard from Ridgeland High School (USA) submitted her Research Blog on how are Ugandan internally displaced persons recovering from the aftermath of the war between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

“There is a huge number of migrants in the world, in the United States alone there are 33.1 million immigrants, legal and illegal, that seek the “American Dream.” This is the opening sentence of Migrant Action plan submitted by the students from The Grover Cleveland High School (USA). They are in the game for the above mentioned prizes. Are you?

Interesting News and The Global Debates International Migration Portal!
Youth Producing change – film festival organized by the Human Rights Watch brings to life human rights abuses through storytelling in a way that challenges each individual to empathize and demand justice for all people. The festival also issued a call for submission of a Youth Film, so why not make a film and enter both TGD and the Human rights watch competition!

Selected article from our portal:
"A third factor that increases migration’s impact is its feminization: Nearly half of the world’s migrants are now women, and many have left children behind. Their emergence as breadwinners is altering family dynamics across the developing world. Migration empowers some, but imperils others, with sex trafficking now a global concern." Jason Deparle. "Global Migration: A World Ever More on the Move." New York Times. June 26th, 2010
Feature of the week – Organize your public debate!

here are some tips:
1. Choose the audience wisely - it might seem easiest to invite your fellow students, but if the issue is migration you might consider thinking bigger. If you bring together mixed groups it is more likely that media, and public officials will want to attend your event.
2. Choose a good date - think about the most suitable date, when most of your audience will be available. Sundays and holidays might not be the best dates, although it depends on whom would you like to invite!
3. Choose and reserve a venue - it can be school, church , library, public cafe. You should think about where your target group is most likely to come and feel confident to participate. Also think about the size of the space. Make sure the selected venue is available before you send out invitations!
4. Assign the speakers and moderator - be careful to chose your most prepared speakers and confident moderator that will be able to handle the debate and public discussion well.
5. Invite local government officials & other community members
6. Send out press releases to earn media coverage
7. Send out invitations to your event and follow up with them.
8. Make sure your debaters are well prepared by holding a prep-debate at least a few days before the event starts
9. Make sure your venue, speakers and moderator are ready in time
10.Document your public debate - don't forget to circulate a sign-up sheet (required), capture a video footage (optional) and take photographs (required). If you have media present don't forget to follow up with them, so that they mention your name, the name of the school, the name of the event or the name of the project (Te Global Debates).

To get you started with the content please refer to The Global Debates International Migration Portal and our introductory article into the topic, as well as the guide to the Public debate.

Our partners help us spread the word! Help us too and become a partner!

The Global debates and our partners are helping us spread the news about TGD.

OneWorld - Netherlands

Daily monitor – Uganda

Polis e-newsletter 25 (Oktober _ November 2010)

Ecsite - Belgium

Global Changemakers – Switzerland

Yactivist - Thailand

FAQ:
Q. Does the Parent Teacher Student Association (elected) president (leader) count as points? Thank you!
A. Unfortunately no. This is the section of the guide on eligible elected officials:
An elected leader is someone who is chosen by the public community for a position within a local or national government body.

Q. Do we have to organize more than one public debate?
A. No, you are required to organize only one public debate. However in order to collect more points, you are encouraged to organize more of them.

Do you have more questions or remarks? Let us know!

The Global Debates Team

The Global Debates Newsletter October 25

52 days to go!

Featured in this issue :

• Magic number 200 by November 1!
• Stories and updates from the TGD contestant
• The Global Debates International Migration Portal!
• Feature of the week – The Migrants plan & IDEA Global Challenge
• New partners of the project
• Interview with ...
• Frequently asked questions

Magic number
Up to this date we have 140 institutions from 54 countries registered. In the BigIDEA from October 8 we mentioned that we would like to reach 100 registered schools by October 11 and you helped us make it happen!
We set ourselves a new goal this time. In the next ten days we want to reach the magic number of 200 registered schools! Help us and tell your friends on Facebook, from your neighborhood and other schools to register today!

Stories and updates from TGD Contest:
Some schools put on debates and other activities and they shared it with us already! Do so as well! We have received the first Migrant rights action plan from Ken Rukundo from Namilyango school, who described how rights of Namilyango migrants have to be improved.
The first Blog entry from Yena Oh from Grover Cleveland High School tells a heartbreaking story of an asylum seeker named Fatima from Iraq. She is divorced and waiting for being recognized as refugee, who is in imminent physical danger.
Four schools in Uganda have organized public debates already. One of the debates was attended by about three hundred students and teachers, Chairperson of Human Rights Commission in Uganda and the division councilor of Uganda Human Rights Commission. He also gave a keynote address on the legal framework, legal instruments and the situation analysis on Uganda’s status when it comes to the social and economic rights of migrants.
We are also very pleased ot announce that the Final topic of the National Tournament in Belarus, which will be attended by 40 teams from Belarus and Russia, will be on migrants rights!
Great job guys and please do tell us more! We would like to share it with the rest of the contestants!

The Global Debates International Migration Portal!
This portal at Debatepedia is designed especially for The 2010/2011 Global Debates, so make sure to check the resources, links to the relevant institutions, treaties and the reports. We've also developed a pro/con article for the main fall topic to research the many arguments and quotations involved. Make use of it when preparing for your public debate!
Feature of the week – The Migrants plan & IDEA Global Challenge
Brief information:
what: Migrants plan and the IDEA Global Challenge
deadline: November 15, 2010
submission form: migrant plan
guide here
Extent: Aim for 3-5 double-spaced pages
Points: required plus top ten entries will earn 500 bonus points

To enter the IDEA Challenge, submit an essay summarizing the best arguments and evidence you
gathered for your public debate. Your essay should present your team’s best arguments for the
proposition, the team arguing in favor of the resolution. You are more than welcome to get inspired by the materials, which are presented on the InternationaMigration Global Debates portal. Please remember though that if you formulate arguments only based on these, it might not land you the top 10 chart and the 500 bonus points! Also you may consider to test your plan in practice – by debating it in your practice session or at your public debate. The public, elected officials and your opponents might give you interesting ideas to improve your plan even more!

Every school that wants to qualify for the main prize needs to submit the Migration plan anyway, so why not do it earlier (by November 15), so that you can earn some points for it! Please don't forget to use the appropriate submission form!

Please note that we will be strict with plagiarism. In practice this means that we will not be accepting ANY pieces submitted by you that have been written by someone else without giving that person credit for the writing.

New partners
IDEA would also like to thank the following new partners for their dedication and support: Levizja FOL – Kosovo, Zentrum polis – Politik Lernen in der Schule – Austria, New Vision – Ukraine, The CA-F School – Zimbabwe, European Network of Science Centers and Museums, Doga Colleges – Turkey, PlayDecide – Netherlands, YActivists! - Youth Activists of Thailand.

Interview with Veronika, Forum Director and coordinator of The Global Debates

Here are the 10 tips from Veronika, who was in charge of the “Best Youth Forum we ever had” quote from speech of Noel Selegzi at the closing ceremony of the 2010 IDEA Youth Forum:

1.Start planning early! There is nothing more disappointing than having great ideas and not being able to carry them out because of bad time-management.
2.Brainstorm and go wild! Start with blank sheet of paper and only the motion written in the center of the sheet. Then let everyone speak for 2 minutes about possible projects, events and ideas they have about how your team can participate in The Global Debates. After everyone is finished do another round expressing opinions about the ideas of others and their preferences. Finish with a list of possible activities that the whole group would like to do.
3.Make sure you take notes! At the beginning of each 'staff' meeting assign a chair and a note-taker for that session. Chair should make sure all the points on the agenda for that meeting are discussed in timely manner and that everyone had an equal chance to speak up. The note-taker should write down the main points as well as conclusion that were discussed at that meeting and should make sure there is a provisional agenda for the next one.
4.Be innovative! Don't copy ideas of others, without giving them the recognition. We want to see your work, not someone else’s! Judges will disqualify the work (essays, blog entries, etc) that plagiarize from other sources.
5.The way to winning this contest is to: organize more than one public debate, invite elected officials and make sure you get covered by local media – online, press and TV!
6.Make sure you read all manuals carefully! In order to be fair to all contestants we need to follow rules, when awarding the points. These rules are specified in each manual at the beginning. If you are unsure about whether your activity will be awarded with points, please contact us at: GlobalDebatesTeam@theglobaldebates.org
7.Meet the deadlines! The deadline for all your activities and for submitting the report forms is DECEMBER 15. There is a special contest – The IDEA Global Challenge, whose deadline is November 15!
8.Organize the events in local language! When organizing your events think about what is the most commonly used language by the people who attend your event. If you end up organizing the events in other language than English, please make sure the summaries and report forms are in English.
9.Use our hashtag #globaldebates! When posting your photos on Flickr and commenting about your TGD events on Facebook or Twitter please use the #globaldebates. That way the whole TGD community can see them on our TGD website.
10.Join our TGD Facebook community! Discuss TGD events and your successes on our Facebook page. It is a good way to get inspired, come up with better ideas and be on top of the news in regards to TGD initiative as well as migration issues.

FAQ
Q. Is it possible to combine students from more schools?
A. We prefer if the students are from one school, as that is also easier for the participants. However we do understand the difficulty with putting a team together. So we do allow a team to have students from different schools. Please remember that one student cannot be part of more teams!

Do you have more questions? Please check here or write to the Global Debates Team GlobalDebatesTeam@theglobaldebates.org.

Sign Up - IDEA Youth Forum 2011

The 2011 IDEA Youth Forum in Istanbul, aka IDEALIST2011 is a two-week summer debate event for high school students and their coaches. It will take place from July 19 to August 1, 2010 in the city of Istanbul.

The event is co-organized by IDEA and Doga Colleges. The workshops will take place in modern and well-equipped campuses of Doga colleges, participants will stay at the Bostanci Greenpark Hotel and the Grand Finals will be held at the most historic parts of Istanbul University - the Beyazit campus.
For more information go to: www.idebate.org/ideaforum or contact vvlckova@idebate.org

Sign Up - IDEA Exchange, Lithuania

International Debate Education Association and Debatai Programa Jaunimiji are organizing another IDEA Exchange in Vilnius: April 15-17th, 2011.

The broad theme of next year’s Exchange is Youth for Open Society. We would like to provide opportunities for young people to engage in discussions on what Open Society is and how they can become more actively involved in the promotion of its values. We would like to explore a few sub-themes during the Exchange: debate, media, social inclusion and diversity.

Just as in previous years, the Exchange will allow participants to participate in workshops and presentations as well as present their own projects, programs and share ideas.

Here is footage from the previous Exchange in Vilnius. We will be uploading a new site for Exchange 2011 and will keep you posted about the developments. In the meantime – if you would like to contribute any ideas to the program and methodology of the Exchange – please contact Marcin Zaleski at mzaleski@idebate.org.

Sign Up - The Global Debates

6 days into the campaign and the number of schools registering is starting to run high! Currently we have 75 schools from 35 countries - and all continents - and we aspire to reach 100 by Monday October 11. Why wait? Help us achieve our goal and register now!

Another good reason to register is that you will be in on the best strategies to earn thousands of points within The Global Debates contest and WIN the grand prize – the trip to the 2011 IDEA Youth Forum in Istanbul, Turkey.

Here are the 10 tips from Veronika, who was in charge of the 2010 IDEA Youth Forum:

1. Start planning early! There is nothing more disappointing than having great ideas and not being able to carry them out because of bad time-management.

2. Brainstorm and go wild! Start with a blank sheet of paper and only the motion written in the center of the sheet. Then let everyone speak for 2 minutes about possible projects, events and ideas they have about how your team can participate in The Global Debates. After everyone is finished do another round expressing opinions about the ideas of others. Finish with a list of possible activities that the whole group would like to do.

3. Make sure you take notes! At the beginning of each 'staff' meeting assign a chair and a note-taker for that session. The Chair should make sure all the points on the agenda for that meeting are discussed in a timely manner and that everyone had an equal chance to speak up. The note-taker should write down the main points as well as conclusion that were discussed at that meeting and should make sure there is a provisional agenda for the next one.

4...more in the Friday's The Global Debates newsletter, which you will receive only by signing up for it here or registering your school here.

Last week we began our search for new partnerships to boost the impact of our campaign. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following organizations for their willingness to help: United Nations Foundation and National Forensics League – USA, Abusua Foundation – Ghana, Africa Youth Trust – Kenya, New Communication Club – Belarus, National High School Debate League – Moldova, Slovak Debate Association (SDA) – Slovakia, Lithuanian Debate Youth Program, Mongolian education association (MEA) – Mongolia, Asocijacija za kreativnu komunikaciju i debatu (ACCD) – Serbia, Verbattle – India, Debate Ghana, Bulgarian National Debate Association (BNDA) – Bulgaria, “Debate in Civil Society” Public Union – Azerbaijan, OSI Tajikistan – Debate Program – Tajikistan, Center of Cultivating Dialogue (CCD ) – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Debate Ghana Association - Ghana, National Debate Council – Uganda, Levizja FOL – Kosovo and Zentrum Polis – Germany.

The most successful partner in reaching out to their schools so far has been: National Debate Council Uganda. We have received 15 registrations from local high schools. Do you want to hear more about how they have succeeded? sign up for TGD newsletter at or register your school.

News - IDEA: Staying Young in Zeeland

IDEA partnered with Scoop and Rabobank to organize a public debate in Middelburg on the 7th of October. The topic of the debate was “How to make Zeeland young”.
This debate was a follow up on the interest in debating and the topic of rural – urban migration generated by the IDEA Forum in Zeeland organized this year.
What makes Zeeland attractive to young people is a huge concern of the Province of Zeeland. Many young people leave the province once they have finished secondary school and do not come back as residents. Discussing and debating this issue is one of the steps directed at addressing it and this is why Scoop partnered with IDEA to promote the awareness of this issue among young people through the means of policy debate.

After a short workshop by IDEA trainers, more than 50 young people debated the pros and cons of life in Zeeland.
Elly Verkley, a consultant of Scoop said: ‘We got a lot of new information from them and what we saw is that these youngsters really liked debate.’
Representatives of sponsors and Dutch bank Rabo were very impressed by the workshops and debate and are thinking of sponsoring more such events.

Feature - Online Debates in Romania

Are online debates a vehicle for quality debates, based on thorough research, conducive to a better understanding of important issues? Or are they sleek but superficial, better suited to a chat-room like discussion? “In our experience, the first version is more plausible” says Bianca Dragomir of ARDOR.

ARDOR's Debate Academy created a community of students using critical reading and knowledge-based debates as tools for civil involvement.
Alongside critical reading seminars on opinion articles from prestigious journals like The Economist and Newsweek, and public debates where students were paired up with Romanian public figures, the program featured online debates.

Dragomir sees great advantage in using the internet. “Online debates are accessible to students interested in debate from all over the country, regardless of their location. It is an obvious medium for people who are used to spending hours online every day. No less importantly, it is cheaper to organize and to administrate than live debates”.

“Online debates are less spontaneous than the offline ones, but they are also more structured, more analytical and better researched, all due to the fact that students have more time to create and evaluate arguments, to dig for better examples and data.”

Style is evaluated and graded, just as it would be in a live debate. Yet in Romania, there is no creative writing in high schools. Online debates give students a unique opportunity to hone their writing skills.

“Students become more aware and responsible regarding the way they use quotations and sources.” notes Dragomir. “Oral debate sometimes gives room for modified quotations or data. This is less likely to occur online, where everything you mention as proof/quote/example is just a one click distance from the judge and the public.”

Now they are ready to do it all again, on a greater scale! Four Romanian cities and centers of higher education – Cluj, Ia?i, Bucure?ti and Timi?oara – will join to discuss the topic they will have voted as their favorite. This exercise will give an overview on how young people understand issues such as migration, ethnic and racial minorities, public/private education, the Romanian health system, depending on their geographic location and cultural differences.

Results - WODC 2010

The 2010 WODC was won by the Czech Republic, who beat New Zealand 4-2 in the final. It was a tight debate on the motion that Social Housing Should Be Assigned In A Way Which Engineers Mixed Race Communities.

It was adjudicated by a top panel of judges including Rose Helens-Hart, Fred Cowell, Loke Wing Fatt, Andy Hume, Tommy Tonner and Anne Valkering.
Congratulations to both sets of finalists and everyone else who took part.

Competition - You’re The Judge

We have a winner! Take a bow, Karl Lall, for giving a perfect answer to my question. Credit also to the runners-up, Lithembe Sebe, Abdul Somed Abdul Basit and Yuriy Gayevskiy.
The problem was: In a British Parliamentary debate, the first speaker of the closing government team is making her speech. She spends several minutes rebutting the opening opposition, then makes two new arguments to further the proposition. After the debate, a fellow adjudicator says you should penalise her for failing to make an extension. You are forced to admit that she did not use the word “extension”. On that basis, he wants to demote the team from first to second.
Karl says: “Debate should not be about using certain words - it should be about ideas and concepts. In a BP debate we value the fact, that the debate does not stand in one place but rather that new arguments are being brought to the table. If the second speaker of Gov 2 has presented two new arguments, then (s)he has fulfilled that role - the debate has been taken further on. The fact that (s)he did not use the words "extention" or "elaboration" or "my new material" or similar, is irrelevant and (s)he certainly does not deserve to be punished for not using a specific word, when (s)he has clearly done what we expect from a 1st speaker of Gov 2.”
Today's challenge is about online debating.

Q3: “In the first round of the World Online Debating Championships, your opponents write a very long and detailed case, linking to dozens of articles and using very difficult technical language that you don't understand. You feel out of your depth and worry that you are going to lose. Should you copy their style? Should you adopt their approach? Or should you do something different?

Answers please to nhsemail@gmail.com.

WODC semi-finals results

Results are in for the semi-finals of the 2010 World Online Debating Championships. New Zealand beat Greece 3-1 and Czech Republic beat Canada 4-0.

The motions were Patents On Life-Saving Drugs Should Be Bypassed and Minors Should Be Able To Obtain Abortions Without Parental Consent. Despite the apparently clear margin of victory, both debates were very tight affairs.

The final, between Czech Republic and New Zealand, will begin on Monday 27th September. You can follow the debate, vote and comment here: http://debatewise.org

WODC semi-finals results

Results are in for the semi-finals of the 2010 World Online Debating Championships. New Zealand beat Greece 3-1 and Czech Republic beat Canada 4-0.



The motions were Patents On Life-Saving Drugs Should Be Bypassed and Minors Should Be Able To Obtain Abortions Without Parental Consent. Despite the apparently clear margin of victory, both debates were very tight affairs.


The final, between Czech Republic and New Zealand, will begin on Monday 27th September. You can follow the debate, vote and comment here: http://debatewise.org

World Debate Forum

Registration for World Debate Forum now open!



Every year debaters and enthusiasts from far corners and dense centers of the world converge in one spot to compete, debate and celebrate their community. In the short period of time dedicated to determining champions, debaters also explore other challenges - like how to improve adjudication, how to develop debate, sharing methods to raise funds.

There are also those who are use debate outside of tournaments - teachers, advocates, community workers, budding politicians; who look to improve what they do by interacting with other debaters. Given there isn't even enough time during Worlds to fully discuss how to improve Worlds, there definitely isn't enough time to talk about how debate can improve the world we live in.

A few interested people, with the co-operation of Botswana Worlds and IDEA, are organizing the Worlds Debate Forum. It will take place immediately after Botswana Worlds, from the 4th to 7th of January and will be held at a hotel or resort close to the University of Botswana.

The World Debate Forum aims to bring together 3 distinct but related debate communities - the competitive debaters, debaters in advocacy and debaters in education - with the hope that together they will make each other and debate stronger.

The goal is not to run an academic conference and the emphasis is not on publications or journals. The idea is to make easy for people to share ideas, find other people who are interested in the same ideas. To dedicate time to solving problems and finding people who can help you solve problems.

You can also participate online, suggest topics for discussion and register for the forum at www.worlddebateforum.org. Go there now to find out more! Email questions to info@worlddebateforum.com.

EurOpen 2010

A final reminder - you only have until October 1st to register for the EurOpen 2010. The fee is 130 Euro per participant, for a week including not only great debates, but tours and time to explore Tubingen and Stuttgart.

The registration cap is 40 teams so don’t be late. More information on www.europen2010.com.

Announcement : Bickel & Brewer Cup

Calling all international debate teams:

The Bickel & Brewer Foundation and New York University invite you to participate in the 10th annual International Public Policy Forum - the only competition that gives high school students across the globe the opportunity to participate in written and oral debates on issues of public policy!

The IPPF is a free competition for public and private school students. Students compete for more than $50,000 in awards and prizes, and the chance to be one of the final eight teams invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to IPPF Finals Weekend in New York City!

Registration for the 2010-11 IPPF is currently underway. To register, visit www.bickelbrewer.com/ippf.

The registration deadline is October 13. Then begin writing your qualifying round essay on the topic, "Resolved: NATO military operations in Afghanistan are not justified." Essays can be written in the affirmative or the negative, and may be no more than 2,800 words in length.

Essays must be submitted to ippf@bickelbrewer.com by October 27.

The Essay Review Committee will select the top 32 teams. Those teams win cash prizes and immediately begin a single-elimination, written debate round. Teams volley papers back and forth via e-mail, with one team affirming the topic and the other negating it. Judges review the essays in the order they were received and vote for the winning team. This continues for several rounds until the final eight teams emerge.

The final eight teams win an all-expenses-paid trip to IPPF Finals Weekend in New York City for three students and two coaches. There, teams compete in oral debates in front of a prestigious panel of judges. The winning team takes home a $10,000 (USD) grand prize and the "Bickel & Brewer Cup".

Want to learn more? Visit www.bickelbrewer.com/ippf to register, view contest rules, a topic primer and more.

This is your chance to take on the world. Register today!

Feature: Changing Minds

Academia de Dezbateri (The Debate Academy) put The Economist, The European Voice, and Foreign Policy editorials under intense scrutiny, testing what difference public debate can create in the attitudes of an audience.

80 students took part in two online debate rounds and over 5000 visitors took part on the website. After an online debating selection round, the remaining students learned how to depict errors in international journals editorials, one of the primary sources of public information.

In two public debates held in Bucharest, students paired with civil society representatives to argue on two motions :

* New media empowers the citizens of a democracy

* It is justified to invoke tradition in conflicts involving the violation/infringement of civil rights.

“I learnt how to recognize context, premises, the main arguments and, more than anything, to see the sophisms, to de-construct and to reply to them.” said student Maria Tereza Antica. “Now I pay more attention to the articles’ sources and structures and feel more comfortable knowing how to read them.”

Using a voting system similar to that of Parliament, the audience was asked to vote for/against the motion prior and post-debate, to see what difference the exercise had made. Under the slogan “in arguments we trust”, see what a true public exchange of ideas can do: here and here.

“This is just the beginning” says Raluca Bogdan, from ARDOR. “From October 2010 to June 2011, ARDOR will multiply this pilot program fourfold. Students from Timisoara, Iasi, Cluj and Bucharest will debate online, be trained in critical reading procedures and provoke public debates.”

Check out the next Big Idea for more about the craze for online debate - not just in Romania but all over the world.

“The Debate Academy” (www.academiadedezbateri.ro), in partnership with Policy Center for Roma and Minorities, was financed by the European Commission through Youth in Action.

Competition: You’re The Judge

Nobody got the right answer to last week’s teaser! My thanks to those who tried and a slap on the wrist to the rest of you. Here it is again, with my explanation.


Q1: In a British Parliamentary debate, on This House Would Decriminalise Drugs, opening government defines the motion as “western countries should legalise all drugs”. Opening opposition challenges that definition, saying it is unfair because “decriminalise” and “legalise” don’t mean the same thing. Opening opposition takes the line that, rather than decriminalising drugs, governments should legalise drugs. In effect, both sides are arguing for the same policy.


A1: “While there is a difference between ‘decriminalise’ and ‘legalise’, it is a reasonable interpretation. The definition goes even further than the motion, which is the right side of the line on which to err. Opposition are wrong to challenge it, and doubly wrong to argue the line that government should legalise drugs. The judge should accept the definition.”


And now this week’s problem on extensions. Please send your answer to nhsemail@gmail.com. Fame awaits the best response as it will be printed in the next Big IDEA.


Q2: In a British Parliamentary debate, the first speaker of the closing government team is making her speech. She spends several minutes rebutting the opening opposition, then makes two new arguments to further the proposition.


After the debate, a fellow adjudicator says you should penalise her for failing to make an extension. You are forced to admit that she did not use the word “extension”. On that basis, he wants to demote the team from first to second.

You’re the judge - what should you do? who is right? why?

Debatewise - Debates of the week

Debates of the week

With our friends at Debatewise, we have set up some special Big IDEA debates just for you.

Two important upcoming dates in the UN calendar are October 1st, the International Day of Older Persons, and October 5th, World Teachers’ Day.

Inspired by these events, come and debate these motions:

• People Should Have The Right To Work Into Their Seventies.

• Teachers Should Have The Right To Punish Pupils Physically If The Parents Consent.
  

  

Together in Europe, addressing the needs of marginalized, migrant and minority youth

International Debate Education Association – in cooperation with the Open Society Foundations (Youth Initiative Program: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/youth ) is organizing a 2-day conference (19th -20th November 2010) in Rotterdam aiming at sharing of experiences and ideas about successful methodologies, programs and projects aimed at inclusion of marginalized, migrant and minority youth.
This is the first Conference of this type organized by IDEA and its partners and we are exploring a possibility of making it into an annual event, focusing on similar theme (s) and with time targeting new target groups and institutions (for example local governments, police, media, etc.)



Objectives of the Conference

• To provide opportunities for participants to share relevant experience and expertise from their youth work – with particular emphasis on successful programs and projects and best practices of engaging marginalized, migrant and minority youth;
• To provide short workshop experience in various methodologies – including successful Debate in Neighborhood Program (Debat in de Buurt);
• To brainstorm ideas for future cooperation between youth centered initiatives from across Europe and globally and to lay the foundations for developing a network of institutions, organizations and individuals interested in addressing the problems of marginalized, migrant and minority youth;

Participants

The conference is opened to educators (teachers, academics, etc.), youth and social workers, representatives of non-governmental organizations and community- based organizations and groups, youth organizations and youth leaders, representatives of local governments (particularly from departments addressing the problems of youth).
The Conference is opened to participants from the EU - we have already confirmation from participants from the following countries: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania, UK, the Netherlands.

Program

The conference will feature the following approaches and components:

a) presentations – show –casing of programs, projects and best practices – with participants of the Conference being encouraged to present as well as attend presentations;

b) workshops and short training sessions in selected methodologies;

c) plenary sessions and roundtables


For more information about the conference please contact Marcin Zaleski at mzaleski@idebate.org

World Bank Open Forum

On October 7-8, the world's financial leaders will be in Washington, D.C., discussing the most pressing issues in the wake of the financial crisis. You’re invited to join the conversation at the World Bank Open Forum, an online event featuring expert discussions, live video and a 24-hour chat-room on three key issues: free and open data, global job creation, and major development challenges.

Join the conversation at worldbank.org/openforum.

Watch the video:

2010 Macedonia Open invites debaters to participate in 8th annual tournament

The Macedonian Debate Association, part of the Youth Educational Forum (YEF), is proud to announce the annual international debate tournament “Macedonia Open.” The eighth happening of this wonderful debate experience will take place in the beautiful city of Ohrid, Macedonia between September 24th and 26th, 2010. This year’s resolution is the following: “Europe can achieve energy independence by 2020.”

Registration for the tournament is still open, so ensure your spot today! Register your team online at YEF’s official website and complete the application form on the following link: http://www.mof.org.mk/index.php?sodr=macedoniaopen. Remember, the number of teams is limited and there is a cap of two teams per country. The participation of a third team will be possible if additional places are available.

For further questions, contact the event coordinator, Katerina Vaskovska, at katerina_vaskovska@mof.org.mk.

Registration now open for IDEA-CAU Tournament in Korea

The 2010 IDEA-CAU Tournament, sponsored by the International Debate Education Association and Chung Ang University, will be held October 2-3, 2010 in Seoul, Korea. As of September 1st, registration for this tournament is now open!

The IDEA-CAU Tournament will be a pro-am British Parliamentary tournament, which means that at least one of the two members on a team should be an amateur debater. To qualify as an amateur debater, you cannot have broken at any tournaments including all international toiurnaments, KNC, KHSDC, KIDA mini-tournaments, and the ADI tournament. All composite teams can break, and you do not have to be a university student to register!

To register for this tournament, click here.

Register soon! This tournament will cap at 32 teams. For more information, email the tournament convener, Steve McCarthy at smccarthy@idebate.org. For tournament updates, visit the Idebate Korea website.

2010 WODC second round results official and third round wraps up

The second-annual World Online Debating Championship moved into the third round this week with eight teams facing off to progress in this international tournament. Each day this week, from Monday August 30th through Thursday September 2nd, featured a different pairing of teams including Macedonia vs. Greece, New Zealand vs. Botswana, Canada vs. India, and Czech Republic vs. Mongolia.

Congratulations to these eight teams who won their rounds from Monday August 16th through Thursday August 19th during the second round. To view these past debates and the progression of the WODC, click here.

Hosted by Debatewise and IDEA, the competition invites national teams from every corner of the globe to debate against each other about important issues facing the world today. For more information, visit the WODC website or WODC Facebook page.

Deadline to submit to next Idebate magazine extended to September 1st

Have any IDEA news? The deadline to submit your event stories for inclusion in the next issue of Idebate Magazine has been extended to September 1st.

Remember that everything in Idebate is submitted by readers, so we need your content. We want coverage of programs in your countries, accounts of IDEA events, or anything else you think other debaters would be interested in reading. Even if you’re short on time, you can at least send us a photo!

This is going to be a very exciting issue, as we look back on events such as Youth Forum, kick off programs like The Global Debates, and provide coverage from countries all over the world. You will even get the chance to read top-notch opinions and journalism pieces and written by debate and media students.

If you have any ideas or questions, or you would like to submit an article, email me at ipatkowski@sorosny.org.

If I haven’t heard from you yet, I hope to soon,

Isabel Patkowski
Idebate Guest Editor

International Committee of the Red Cross launches young reporter competition

In an effort to give young people a stronger voice concerning today's most pressing humanitarian issues – from mass displacement caused by war to the lifelong and devastating impact of landmines – the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is launching a global "young reporter" competition, aimed at enabling people between the ages of 18 and 25 to better understand how violence affects young lives and share their views on armed conflict with others.
Each of the four winners of the competition will be invited to travel to a country that has been affected by armed conflict – Georgia, Lebanon, Liberia or the Philippines – where they will be able to talk with other young people who have lived through fighting or suffered its consequences. Each will be hosted by an ICRC delegation and will have the opportunity to see activities run by the ICRC and/or the National Red Cross Society in the country concerned. In addition, the young reporters will receive coaching on writing about humanitarian issues from ICRC experts.

At the end of their week-long visit, each winner will be expected to produce a "story from the field," which will be presented at a special event next year in Geneva on World Red Cross Red Crescent Day, which takes place every year on May 8th.

To be eligible, applicants must have strong communication skills. They should be interested in youth issues, have a desire to do something that will have an effect on people's lives, and have done voluntary work related to social or humanitarian services. Aspiring young reporters must submit an article, photo essay or short video on a humanitarian challenge of their choice. Entries will be judged on the basis of editorial quality, originality and relevance. Candidates must be between the ages of 18 and 25, have a valid passport and should be available for travel in January or February 2011. Submissions are encouraged from young adults in all nations.

The deadline for submissions is October 1, 2010. The winners will be notified by November 1, 2010. For full entry details, please go to competition.

For further information, please contact Anna Nelson, ICRC Geneva, telephone: +41 79 217 3264.

National Debate Team of Romania shares their process of selection

The selection of the national debate is undoubtedly the most important event that a debater can attend. It takes place once or twice a year, with the purpose of selecting five team members to represent our country at the Worlds Schools Debate Championship.

For candidates to qualify for the selection, each is expected to send a researched document on a certain topic, a letter of intent and a CV. The files that the candidates send should contain information about themselves and why they would like to participate, as well a thorough analysis of a motion that is set roughly a week before the selection. This time, the motion was “This house believes that we should never negotiate with the leaders of Iran.”

The judges then narrow down the likely participates to 12, from which 5 will make up the chosen team. The candidates then compete against each other in several rounds of impromptu motions and are organized into randomly chosen teams A, B, C and D. Then, each team plays a match against each of the other ones, so in the end each team plays a total of three matches.

The two days of selection are full of emotion, tension, eagerness, frustration and even anger. But if you learn to bottle up these feelings, they will change into satisfaction and pride at the end, when you will hear your name called out among the winners! It takes some suffering to achieve satisfaction and that’s unarguably true, but I can promise you, it's worth it!

Theodora Dragan
Member of the Romania National Debate Team 2011

To read Theodora’s full description of the selection process of the Romania National Debate Team, click here.

2010 World Online Debating Championship progresses to second round

The second annual World Online Debating Championship is now underway! This week, sixteen teams from across the globe moved into the second round of the 2010 WODC as they debated several topics online.

Teams in the second round include USA 2 v Macedonia, Greece v Pakistan, Mexico v New Zealand, Australia v Botswana, Latvia v Canada, Colombia v India, Mongolia v Ghana and USA 1 v Czech Republic. Click on each team pair to view their debate.

Hosted by Debatewise and IDEA, the competition invites national teams from every corner of the globe to debate against each other about important issues facing the world today. For more information, visit the WODC website or Facebook page.

Complete list of Youth Forum winners released and 2011 location announced

Congratulations to all the winners at the 2010 IDEA Youth Forum tournaments! The full results, including tournament winners and best speaker awards, are listed here.

The champions of the Karl Popper Debate Championship are members of Team Lithuania, followed by the runner-up team from the UK. Also, congratulations to Steven Rajavinothan (UK), Jakub Langr (Desceptatio Incapax), and Daniel Bregman (UK), who won the top three KPDC best speaker awards.

The Mixed Team Track tournament was won by Mojmir Stehlik, Subhi Khoury, Bram Wasti and Alexander Bondarau from team Rh1nos. The best speaker award went to Diana Li (Team United), second place was awarded to Jihwan Chang (So Not Sarcastic team), and third place went to Emma Smith (Muffinsss team).


The British Parliamentary Tournament was won by Andrei Petre-Melinte and Ioan Nascu from Romania. The top three speakers of the tournament are Dovile from team Trotsky, Kaspar from team Trotsky, and Calin from team Lady and Tramp.


The Spirit Award, recognizing the participant that fostered a positive, encouraging and respectful spirit of the Youth Forum, was awarded to coach Radu Cotacea from Romania and debater Abdulkader Elyas from Botswana, with a special mention to Ethan Sheffield (USA).

From the Coaches and Judges Track, Mihail Fridman from Belarus was recognized for being proactive and involved and was ready to learn more at all times. From the International New Debaters track, Yordan Yordanov (Captain Jack’s team) was recognized as he ranked highest of all former IND track members in the Mixed Team Tournament best speaker results.

Also, the location of the 2011 Youth Forum has been announced! Next year’s forum will be held in Istanbul, Turkey July 19th - August 1st. For more information, visit the official Youth Forum website.