Crazy Forum Party-goers

As the sun goes down over Trest, Forum participants put on their dancing shoes and...wait a minute...that was a different night. Tonight: the elective classes from 9:00-10:30 p.m. Just look at these wild participants in the classes of "Nonverbal Communication in Debate" and "Policy Debate Scholarships for Debating in the U.S." I heard that both classes were very helpful and well-attended. Strike one up for IDEA Trainers. The course with the highest attendance for tonight: Manolis's course on Harry Potter.

Preserve Nature: Join Global Debates!

As part of the Global Debates effort within The People Speak 2007/2008, we would like to show you this Public Service Announcement, produced by the dynamic duo of Dumbo & Jumbo, on behalf of the International Debate Education Association.

The video has been shot and edited yesterday and today, right here at the Forum. And no, there were no carnations harmed during the filming of this PSA.

Dumbo and Jumbo Planning Tomorrow's Excitement

It's getting late here in Trest, but the Forum's multimedia dynamic duo, Marjan and Mite (a.k.a. Dumbo and Jumbo), remain hard at work. They spent the majority of today attempting to kill a carnation for a The People Speak public service announcement. By the time they managed to kill the carnation they had rethought the video, so the poor carnation died in vain. Undaunted, Dumbo and Jumbo are preparing more videos - stay tuned!

Speech about Hate Speech

Though the mixed teams tournament doesn't start for a couple of days, I overheard Ronna and the fairies discussing principles of Freedom of Expression in the lobby.

The discussion became somewhat heated; I think this is an indication that the debate rounds are gonna be good. Freedom of expression is a very important topic for fairies. I snuck a photo. But wait, are fairies supposed to show up in photographs? Hmmm, maybe I'm thinking of vampires.

ForumCast... Episode #4!

ForumCast. :) Episode #4 features a full length interview with two of the members of the Rwandan delegation. Interview was hosted by our own Arminda Lathrop. This show is a bit longer than the previous ones, but we are sure you will enjoy it just as much.



Enjoy! We will be back.

Working Hard in Split Labs

The first item on the agenda this morning after morning assemby was Split/ Skills Labs, which included training in building a case, argument structure, evidence, English skills, responding to a case, and refutation. Students were assigned to different skills labs taught by between one and five instructors. Look at that focus!

Climate is Changing: Join Global Debates!

As part of the Global Debates effort within The People Speak 2007/2008, we would like to show you this Public Service Announcement, produced by Jumbo, on behalf of the International Debate Education Association.

The video has been shot during the last couple of days, right here at the Forum. :)

ForumCast... Episode #3!

ForumCast again? Episode #3 is a short introduction to the Newcomers Track that is going on at the Forum for the first time this year. The podcast features interviews with Ronna Liggett and debaters and in this track.



Enjoy! We will be back.

Complete results from the KPDWC 2007!

The KPDWC is over, and the trophy is on its way to South Korea. We have now also published the complete results from the preliminary rounds of the IDEA Karl Popper Debate World Championships 2007 [yes, that is a long name]. You can now review the cumulative results as well as the speaker order.

KPDWC 2007 Cumulative Results
KPDWC 2007 Speaker Order

And, to refrain from the text-only blatant nature of the post, a photographical interlude.



Yes, we like jazz.

ForumCast... Episode #2!

ForumCast is back! Episode #2 conveys the reflections on the KPDC World Championships through the eyes of the finalist teams, Korea #1 and South Africa. The speakers talk about their experiences, their feelings and expectations.





Enjoy! We will be back.

Update... Dancing on the Charles' Bridge!

As we promised, after looking into that story about the apparent dancing in the Charles' Bridge, we found out that the people affected by its recorded content have meticulously attempted to destroy the camera used to record the incident.

This included covering the camera with fish leftovers and throwing it into the Vltava.

Alas, our primary concern is bringing the truth to our readers, so after fighting a flock of ducks [geese?] for the camera, we salvaged a portion of the video. Apologies for the choppy quality. :)

Apparently, after the display of dancing, the crowd around the band intensified. Should we wonder why?

Free Time in Prague... and some Dancing. :)

After the KPDC World Championship Finals, we got a free-for-all pass in Prague. Some of us went on organized sightseeing tours, some went to the zoo...Some of us... well, see for yourself.


Start the tour at the Astronomical Clock?


Now where was that restaurant we were looking for?


A fountain and some shade at last.

The Tower of Charles' Bridge is in sight.

A cool bebop band playing on the Charles' Bridge.

Brought to you by the dynamic duo of Jumbo & Dumbo.

Apparently there was also some dancing on the Charles' Bridge, although the rumors are coming in from sources unconfirmed. Being the dedicated reporting staff that we are, we will be looking into this and right back here as soon as we have some substantial... well, stuff.

Peace out. For real, now... peace out.

And the Winner of the KPDWC is... South Korea!!!

The KPDWC is over. The new World Champion in Karl Popper Debate is South Korea! The actual team in question is Korea 1, consisting of Woon Joon Jang, Habin Chung and Yunsieg Paik Kim. The win was a decisive 8 - 1 in favor of Korea 1 over South Africa.

Congratulations to both teams for a splendid job!

South Africa and Korea in the Finals!

Well, it is official. Hours before the dawn of the last day of the KPDC, here are the results from the eliminations. South Africa and Korea hit it off in the finals.

And to keep it real, here is the complete elimination:



See you back here tommorow after the visit to the Betlehem Chapel.

Newcomers Track

Rona and Margarita are doing great job preparing newcomers to be ready for debate in mixed tournament.



They are already good debaters.



The Newcomers are coming. Be prepared for them. Maybe some of them will be your team mate in mixed tournament.



Don't forget to visit this place for new episodes of ForumCast.

IDEA's Citizen Journalism Pages Go Live!

Check out idea's new Citizen Journalism web page!

ForumCast Starts... Episode #1!

As the second day of the KPDC trails away, we have an auditory treat for our international audience. True to our roots in media, we are launching our very first ForumCast, courtesy of our very own Mite Kuzevski [Jumbo].



Watch this space for future updates. :)

The Weekly: Global Debates and Updates from Forum

The IDEA Weekly, Volume 140

July 26, 2007

Dear INN Readers,
I hope this issue of the Weekly finds you well. I’m at the IDEA Youth Forum in Trest, Czech Republic. People here refer to Trest as a small village, but, coming from Duino, small is relative! The weather here is actually cool, which is kind of nice after being in Duino. Today, we’re wrapping up the quarter and semifinals and holding the finals in Prague tomorrow. For the latest on the Youth Forum, go to idebate.blogspot.com, see materials on our Wiki at www.idebate.org/wiki, and listen to IDEA radio. ~Arminda

“Water, Water Everywhere, But Not a Drop To Drink”
We’ve just entered the semi-finals at the Karl Popper Debate Championships, and the above statement is the resolution for semis. The teams advancing to the semis are Korea 1, Korea 4, Korea 6, and South Africa. It has been an intense day of debating, but we’re looking forward to the Country Expo tonight. I heard a rumor that Ukraine brought good vodka for the expo…

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 http://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. And, on October 19th, IDEA is sponsoring the 2007 Day of Debate--we're hoping that you will help us to set a record of the most debates in the most countries on one topic in one day. 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 31st—November 4th, 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.

Duino 2008
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!

Submit material to idebate Magazine by August 10th: alathrop@idebate.org

Preliminary Results... on to Elimination!

Well, well, well, as it turned out, it took 4 wins, 12 ballots and 1267 high-low adjusted speaker points to advance to Quarterfinals.

Congratulations to the following teams [listed alphabetically]:

• Korea #1
• Korea #4
• Korea #6
• Korea #7
• Moldova
• Romania
• South Africa
• USA Baltimore

And here is the elimination lineup for Quarterfinals - already under way!

Check back here for updated statistics. :)

The End of Round 5

The competition continues to become more fierce, as debater participants in the Karl Popper Debate Championships wrap up Round 5. Only one more round until the quarters.

The prepared topic is, "Resolved: Private management of fresh water utilities is preferable to their public management." Stay tuned for results.

Tomorrow: the finals in Prague!

Tab Room Scribbles...

Like a true war reporter, this post brought to you hiding behind my computer screen during the last preliminary rounds of the KPDC World Championships. For you lurkers wondering what happens behind the closed tab doors, we snuck out a couple shots.

Photos speak ever more better then words, so take a look.


Helina, the Tournament Director.


Anca, the Chief Adjudicator.


Noel, doing what Noel does.


Ioana, trying to make sense out if it all.


And for all you nice people, a smile from Rachel.

Note there is one more person stashed away in tab room, but it is the sincere opinion of this poster that we should not share any more photos of that person on our blog, due to the fact we already feel that person is overexposed to the readers of iDebate. :)

Draga Banda Rulez!

Matej Kolav, vocal and violin, Vojta Kolav, percussion and tarabuka, and Predrag Duvonjic, vocal and guitar are the prominent members of "Draga Banda" (Dear Band).

These guys made a brilliant performance last night at IDEA Youth Forum. They first started playing 5 years ago. Predrag is Bosnian who came to the Czech Republic when the war broke out in Bosnia and Herzegowina. Vojta and Matej are natively from Jihlava which holds a dear place in their hearts and their music.


Predrag in a musical trance.


Vojta doing his thing. :)


Matej playing an old medieval fiddle [shkripky].

For those of you at the Forum who did not show up last night, you missed out on a great experience. The combination of music and emotion backed up by a dedicated audience provided for a true international Forum happening.

Nevertheless, for you who missed out, as well as our vast international audience, IDEA Radio is here to convey this experience [albeit in auditory fashion only] over the course of the next few weeks. Look for the "Draga Banda" live performance exclusively on IDEA Radio!

Rock on! Well, ethno on...

Howdy Everyone:

I figured I'd share some photos from Uganda, while I was sitting around trying to recover from jet lag (how do you do it, Noel!?) The pictures are mostly of the kids doing mock parliament sessions, and a few group photos (the big group photo was takewn at a spot inside the fabled and contoversial Mabira rainforest).

Anyway, the Uganda trip was a huge success, I think, in large part to the kids who went (Americans as well as Ugandans), and the grown-ups who looked after them for three weeks in Africa. And let's not forget the organizers from Willamette University and CRY Uganda who put this all together. On a personal note, Uganda is now down in my book as the friendliest country I've ever visited, surplanting a now strong second-placed Estonia... (Sorry Kajar!)

I think I speak for all the Americans when I say that we can't wait for the Ugandans to come to Oregon so we can reciprocate the hospitality. It should be almost as fun to show the US to the Ugandan kids, as it was for us to discover Africa with them!

See you in Prague!
Rob

Water Management

This water is under public management.


When is public everybody takes as much as they can, not as much as they need.


Look how they are wasting water under public management.




You can tell a 1000 words but photos are explaining everything. You can't refuse this evidence. Private water management is better then public one.

Zastavas and Yugos

This just in: Marjan Stojnev has changed careers. Though he was wonderful at being the IDEA Tech Genius, he's decided to become a mechanic instead.

So long, Lucy. Marjan has traded you in for several cars that run some of the time...and he's vowed never to button his shirt again.

Demo Debate - Trainers Show Off!

Bottled Water Leaves us Thirsty! The very first debate at this year's IDEA Forum was a clash of the titans [titans = trainers] before an esteemed audience of Forum participants. These are some of the photos from the debate... more after the break.

And check out IDEA Radio! We will be streaming the debate by the end of today.



Affirmative side defended by Branka, Spela and Manolis.


Negative Side - The Attackers - Vivek, Aaron and Mark.


Manolis is the first to launch the "water" missiles.


Mark threatens to return the favour... err, the missiles. Manolis is caught off guard?


Wonder what they are all looking at?


I'm launching the "water"missiles right now.!!! ZWIIINNNGG!!!!!

More photos after the break... peace out!