Students voice their opinions at Debate Festival in Terneuzen, Netherlands

On March 11, IDEA-Netherlands along with De Kleine Rede, a school for special education, organized a debate festival in Terneuzen, Netherlands for 55 second year students. The festival was the closing of a series of debate lessons supported by IDEA.

Although students of De Kleine Rede do not have a reputation for being talkative, these debate lessons encouraged them to discuss issues that were relevant to them. The theme of the debate festival was "alcohol consumption and youth." Students thought critically about this topic, considering whether drinking should be banned from youth, whether advertisements for alcohol should be banned from television, and whether youth have the capacity to make wise decisions. The public audience attending the festival was extremely impressed with their arguments. Two journalists from the area wrote articles about the event in their local newspapers, calling the event "Indrukwekkend- Impressive." Click here to view one of the articles.

At the conclusion of the festival, the superior of youth and education, Mr. Liefting, presented the awards for the best speakers. He assured IDEA that he is in favor of continuing the debate program in Terneuzen.