First week of Youth Forum keeps participants busy with competition and activities

The 2010 IDEA Youth Forum in Zeeland has officially opened! We are happy to announce that all 275 participants from 42 countries arrived safe, sound, and bright eyed for their debates. A shout out to the Dutch Naval Facilities for putting up with a couple hundred unruly students and coaches.

The epic two weeks kicked off with Dutch-Zeeland culture night in the Naval Facilities. Following words of wisdom and warm wishes to enjoy by Veronika, participants were privy to a parade of traditional Dutch aesthetics in a traditional 19th century Dutch fashion show. As with any party, we munched on blocks of cheese, sausage, fried balls of potato stew (Bitterballen) and other traditional local products of the Netherlands.

Also adhering to tradition, the Karl Popper Debate Competition kicked off with its opening highlight: the demo debate (watch it here). This year, trainers from countries of Southeast Asia, Greece and South Africa soundly schooled the European team of trainers. Debating on the motion, “Parents should be allowed to pay for international adoptions,” the debaters engaged in a heated discussion of whether or not the current adoption system would be worsened or helped by adding payment for the child in various adoption steps. When asked, the last speaker on the negative side, Manos said, "yeah, I'd probably vote for the affirmative. But, you know, I haven't seen the debate".

On Friday July 23rd, the Karl Popper Debate Championship kicked off with the two rounds that dealt with the extended preparation motion which was, “Countries should ban the import of goods produced by child labor.” All teams debated both sides of the motion that was given to them in February. As a result of their preparation, the debaters used facts, research and statistics to make their arguments stronger. However, they were then required to debate the two limited preparation motions for which they had only 45 minutes to prepare. These were, “Teachers should be allowed to use physical force to discipline their children” and “Parliaments should reserve 10 percent of their seats for people under 30.” These motions were selected by the tournament motions committee led by the Chief Adjudicator Andrej Schulcz. After the first four rounds, teams debated the second extended preparation motion that was “In some cases, juveniles should be tried as adults.”

The debates were adjudicated by the trainers from the Youth Forum and the coaches of the participating teams. When asked what makes a successful tournament, Andrej told us that “the discussion between adjudicators and the exchange of opinions about our format, our expectations and our judging standards are the basis of a quality adjudication pool for every debating tournament, and I am very happy with the way our judges have performed their role in the preliminary rounds of the tournament”.

On Saturday July 24th, students and coaches kicked it in downtown Vlissingen in reward for their hard work. Some let their hair down at the amusement park, some braved the cold Dutch summer nights at the beach, and some just parked it at the bars.

If you are interested to see more, check out the picture section. If there are debates in progress you can watch them live via our livestream channel. To watch the videos later, go to the Blip TV channel to watch them later. You can follow the latest updates on IDEA Youth Forum by following the official hashtag #IYF10 or by becoming a fan of IDEA’s Facebook page.

Last of all - the suspense is off now - the 2010 Youth Forum theme song is the notoriously known Captain Jack by Captain Jack! Stay tuned for stories from the first night out in the next newsletter...

~Organizational Committee of the 2010 IDEA Youth Forum in Zeeland

The 2010 IDEA Youth Forum kicks off this week in the Netherlands!

IDEA’s biggest event of the year, the Youth Forum, kicked off yesterday July 22nd in the Province of Zeeland in the Netherlands! Approximately 260 debaters, coaches and trainers arrived in Zeeland from across the globe for two weeks of debate classes, competition and of course, lots of fun!

Participants traveled to the 16th annual IDEA Youth Forum from 38 different countries including Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Laos, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, The Netherlands, Palestinian Territory, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, South Africa, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, USA and Zimbabwe.

At the Youth Forum, students and educators will develop their debating and public speaking skills through a series of classes about debate and the content of this year’s forum debate topics. Debaters will utilize their new skills and knowledge to compete in three debate tournaments at the Youth Forum.

The forum will begin with participants engaging in either the International New Debaters Track or the Karl Popper Debate Championship (KPDC), which will conclude with the KPDC Grand Finale in Middelburg on July 26th. The forum will then continue with several tracks that offer trainings in different debate levels and techniques. These small group training sessions include the Mixed Teams Track, the British Parliamentary Debate Track, the Coaches and Judges Track and the English as a Foreign Language Track. The forum will conclude on August 4th with the Mixed Team Track Finals and the British Parliamentary Finals.

The theme for this year’s Karl Popper Debate Championship will feature youth issues and is divided into two motions. The first motion is "Countries should ban the import of goods produced by child labor," and the second motion is "In some cases juveniles should be tried as adults." The theme for the Mixed Team Tournament will focus on migration and the motion will be "Government should preserve rural life."

The 2010 IDEA Youth Forum is co-organized by the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) and Zeeland’s Institute for Social and Cultural Development (Scoop), in cooperation with the municipalities of Middelburg and Vlissingen, the Hogeschool Zeeland and the Roosevelt Academy. The forum is organized in a different country each year and since its first edition in 1995, it has provided an unforgettable educational experience to over 2,000 students from over 40 countries. For more information, visit the Youth Forum website.

Teaching opportunities immediately available in Vietnam and South Korea

The International Debate Education Association (IDEA) is recruiting for new debate trainers to fill positions immediately with the Korea Poly School (KPS) in Seoul, South Korea and a new campus in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam. These positions will begin in September, but with a lengthy visa process, applicants must apply as soon as possible!

KPS is seeking Canadian or U.S. citizens to teach debate to elementary and/or middle school students for at least one academic year. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree and be willing to work in Korea for one academic year. The ideal candidate will also be comfortable working in an international educational environment and will have some experience doing so. Click here to learn more about KPS.

While IDEA is assisting KPS in recruiting trainers, as well as providing technical support to them, the instructors will be KPS employees. IDEA will, however, provide pre-departure orientation as well as teaching and curriculum materials.

Duties
The debate instructor shall perform the following duties:
1. Plan and conduct debate and argumentation classes in levels assigned by employer;
2. Conduct a small number of classes in subjects outside of debate with provided teaching materials;
3. Assist with and participate in activities related to the instructional programs of employer, including, but not limited to, departmental meetings, general faculty meetings, and special presentations and events;
4. Assist employer in organizing debate clubs at KPS schools;
5. Assist employer in facilitating KPS debate events;
6. Assist employer with out-of-classroom activities related to the regular curriculum of employer, including, but not limited to, field trips and school-wide assemblies, as well as other extracurricular activities;
7. Assist with the development of teaching materials, supplementary materials, tests, evaluations, and other programs related to English language teaching;
8. Assist or conduct teacher training in debate for new DIs under the direction of employer;
9. Assist, monitor, and supervise DIs in their teaching methodology and implementation, and classroom conduct under the direction of employer; and
10. Perform other duties as designated by employer.

Compensation and Benefits
Compensation and benefits are outlined below:
1. Free furnished single housing (rent is paid for, but utilities and maintenance fees will be the trainers' responsibilities);
2. Free round trip airfare;
3. Contract completion bonus (severance pay) after one year;
4. 50% of national health insurance paid for by the school;
5. 50% of national pension premiums paid for by the school (they will also be eligible to petition for their pension refund from the Korean pension board before departing the country);
6. Monthly salary - 3.1 million Korean Won (roughly 3,000 US Dollars).

Applications should include a current CV, a cover letter, and the contact information of two references. Please send your application as soon as possible to Lin Lu, llu@idebate.org. IDEA will accept applications until the position is filled.

Tenth annual International Public Policy Forum topic and competition dates announced

The law firm of Bickel and Brewer and New York University proudly announce the 10th annual International Public Policy Forum (IPPF), the only contest that gives high school students across the globe the opportunity to participate in written and oral debates on issues of public policy.

This international contest is open to all public and private schools for free. High school teams compete for National Forensic League points and more than $50,000 in awards and scholarships. In addition, the top eight schools win all-expense-paid trips to the finals in New York City!

Interested in participating? Work with your debate coach or English teacher to organize your team. Go online to www.bickelbrewer.com/ippf to register your team before October 13, 2010. Then, your team will prepare a qualifying round essay on the 2010-11 IPPF topic, “Resolved: NATO military operations in Afghanistan are not justified.”

The top 32 teams all earn cash awards, and will be announced on November 10, 2010. These teams will then compete in elimination rounds until the competition is narrowed down to the final eight teams. These teams will win trips to the IPPF Finals April 8-10, 2011 in New York City. The winning team will take home a $10,000 grand prize ($5,000 for the school and $5,000 for team members) and the “Bickel and Brewer Cup.”

For more information, visit the IPPF website.

Media now available from China Advocacy Institute

If you missed out on all the action at the IDEA Advocacy Institute in China, you can still check out the many new photos from the event that are now posted on the IDEA Flickr page.



Hosted by IDEA, Willamette University, and Xiamen University, the Advocacy Institute was a two and a half week program that took place from June 7th to 23rd in the city of Xiamen, in the Fujian Province of China. Participants came from around the globe, including Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, China, Jamaica, Nigeria, Ghana, Mongolia, South Africa, and other countries!


For more information on the China Advocacy Institute, click here.

EUDC livestream

Teaching opportunities in Vietnam and South Korea for US and Canadian citizens

The International Debate Education Association (IDEA) is currently recruiting for new debate trainers with the Korea Poly School (KPS) in South Korea and a new campus in Vietnam. KPS is seeking Canadian or U.S. citizens to teach debate to elementary and/or middle school students for at least one academic year.

Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree and be willing to work in Korea for one academic year. The ideal candidate will also be comfortable working in an international educational environment and will have some experience doing so. Click here to learn more about KPS.

While IDEA is assisting KPS in recruiting trainers, as well as providing technical support to them, the instructors will be KPS employees. IDEA will, however, provide pre-departure orientation as well as teaching and curriculum materials.

Duties
The debate instructor shall perform the following duties:
1. Plan and conduct debate and argumentation classes in levels assigned by employer;
2. Conduct a small number of classes in subjects outside of debate with provided teaching materials;
3. Assist with and participate in activities related to the instructional programs of employer, including, but not limited to, departmental meetings, general faculty meetings, and special presentations and events;
4. Assist employer in organizing debate clubs at KPS schools;
5. Assist employer in facilitating KPS debate events;
6. Assist employer with out-of-classroom activities related to the regular curriculum of employer, including, but not limited to, field trips and school-wide assemblies, as well as other extracurricular activities;
7. Assist with the development of teaching materials, supplementary materials, tests, evaluations, and other programs related to English language teaching;
8. Assist or conduct teacher training in debate for new DIs under the direction of employer;
9. Assist, monitor, and supervise DIs in their teaching methodology and implementation, and classroom conduct under the direction of employer; and
10. Perform other duties as designated by employer.

Compensation and Benefits
Compensation and benefits are yet to be determined but will be similar to the debate instructor position in Korea, which are outlined below:
1. Free furnished single housing (rent is paid for, but utilities and maintenance fees will be the trainers' responsibilities);
2. Free roundtrip airfare;
3. Contract completion bonus (severance pay) after one year;
4. 50% of national health insurance paid for by the school;
5. 50% of national pension premiums paid for by the school (they will also be eligible to petition for their pension refund from the Korean pension board before departing the country);
6. Monthly salary - 3.1 million Korean Won (roughly 3,000 US Dollars).

Applications should include a current CV, a cover letter, and the contact information of two references. Please send your application to Lin Lu, llu@idebate.org, immediately. We will accept applications until the position is filled. Selection is dependent on applicant's ability to qualify for a Vietnamese-issued work visa.

Help improve Debatabase and you could win $50 on Amazon.com!

Throughout the month of July, IDEA is encouraging users of Debatabase, a database of hundreds of debate topics, to participate in a quick survey. Participants of the survey will help improve the debate website and best of all, will be entered in a $50 Amazon.com giftcard drawing! But hurry, the deadline to participate in this survey is July 31, 2010.

Click here to take the survey now.

Debatabase is a high-quality topic research resource highlighting the major pros and cons of many global issues. This resource helps users find arguments for and against hundreds of debating topics written by expert debaters, judges and coaches. Also included are background summaries, links to websites of interest and recommended books, examples of motions and comments. To check it out, go to idebate.org/debatabase.

Registration deadline approaching for World Youth Model Congress 2010

Attention middle school and high school students! The registration deadline is nearing for the World Youth Model Congress 2010, the one and only model congress conference that accurately replicates the actual U.S. Congress system in Korea. The regular registration deadline is July 17th, and late registration will continue until July 20th. The WYMC 2010 will take place August 6-8, 2010 in the COEX Convention and Exhibition Center in South Korea.

At the WYMC, participants will experience U.S. Congress with utmost similarity and approximation, and will debate with prominent participants and student officers on diverse current issues. In addition, the conference will also offer a college info session, during which participants will meet with students from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, MIT, and more.

Each conference participant will receive a certificate of participation under the names of the WYMC Association and other conference sponsors. Conference winners will have the opportunity to participate in the PENN Model Conference as representatives of the WYMC.

The WYMC is a formal conference organized by the World Youth Model Congress Association, a non-profit organization composed of high school students and promotes debate education both domestically and internationally. The conference is sponsored by the US Embassy- Seoul, The Korea Foundation, Deloitte, Korea Polyschool, and PENNMC. For more information on the WYMC, click here.

The results are in for the IDEA/NJFL National Middle School Tournament

The eleventh annual National Middle School Forensics Tournament was held June 25-27, 2010, at Dowling Catholic High School, Callanan Middle School, and Merrill Middle School in Des Moines, Iowa, and was co-sponsored by the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) and the National Junior Forensic League (NJFL). Attending the tournament were more than 450 students from 45 schools spanning 20 states and the territory of Saipan. Those students constituted more than 600 entries across a dozen speech and debate events.

Earning School of Excellence awards for holistic squad performance were Sidney Lanier Middle School (Houston, TX), Northwest Junior High School (Coralville, IA) and Clay Middle School (Carmel, IN). Earning School of Excellence awards for performance in debate were Sidney Lanier Middle School, Capitol Debate (Woodstock, MD), Kugnus ACTS (Closter, NJ), The Harker School (San Jose, CA), and The Kincaid School (Houston, TX). Earning School of Excellence awards for performance in speech events were Sidney Lanier Middle School, Ockerman Middle School (Florence, KY), The Pike School (Andover, MA), Milton Academy (Milton, MA), and Rowan County MS (Morehead, KY).

Champion students in each of the events included:
Policy Debate: Devansh Srivastura and Michael Koo, Capitol Debate, MD
Congressional Debate: Peter Oathout, Sidney Lanier Middle School, TX
Lincoln Douglas Debate: Naomi Whitney-Hirschmann, St. Louis Park, MN
Public Forum (Co-Champions): Ardash Battu, Arjun Kumar, Claudia Tischler, and Shilpa Yarlgadda, The Harker School, CA
Prose: Claire Russell, Milton Academy Middle School, MA
Poetry: Bridget Kim, Rowan County Middle School, KY
Humorous Interpretation: Scott Diekema, Northwest Junior High School, IA
Dramatic Interpretation: Caroline Ford, Sky Academy, KY
Impromptu: Sarah Muse, Milton Academy Middle School, MA
Extemporaneous Speaking: Gregory Ross, Sidney Lanier Middle School, TX
Original Oratory: Caroline Ford, Sky Academy, KY
Duo Interpretation: Bobby Turnbough and Nicole Hickok, Raymore-Peculiar Middle School, MO
Declamation: Willow Curry, Sidney Lanier Middle School, TX

Click here for a full results packet. Next year’s tournament will be held in Dallas, Texas. Stay tuned for more information on dates and specific details.

The tournament received generous assistance from Brent Hinkle of The Joy of Tournaments registration and tab room management software.

The NJFL was founded by the National Forensic League in 1995 to extend speech and debate opportunities to students in grades 6-8. Upon enrollment at an NFL member high school, students can convert a fraction of junior merit points earned for speaking activities to high school points toward advanced levels of NFL membership. This creates a great feeder program for high schools, and motivation for students to participate more.

~Story from National Forensic League

New publication of Controversia has arrived!

The new issue of Controversia, Volume 7 Issue 1, is now available for purchase! Controversia is a refereed, interdisciplinary journal that explores the nexus of communication and politics and seeks to stimulate reflection on the role of dialogue and debate in fostering participatory governance in both emerging and established democracies.

In this issue, topics include political discourse, parliamentary debate, pragmatic argumentation, and more. To read summaries of all the articles, click here. Find this book, more issues of Controversia, and other publications at our online store.

Help improve Debatabase and you could win $50 on Amazon.com!

Throughout the month of July, IDEA is encouraging users of Debatabase, a database of hundreds of debate topics, to participate in a quick survey. Participants of the survey will help improve the debate website and best of all, will be entered in a $50 Amazon.com giftcard drawing! But hurry, the deadline to participate in this survey is July 31, 2010.

Click here to take the survey now.

Debatabase is a high-quality topic research resource highlighting the major pros and cons of many global issues. This resource helps users find arguments for and against hundreds of debating topics written by expert debaters, judges and coaches. Also included are background summaries, links to websites of interest and recommended books, examples of motions and comments. To check it out, go to idebate.org/debatabase.

Call for extra judges for 2010 IDEA Youth Forum

The 2010 IDEA Youth Forum is looking for extra judges, who would be able to judge at the IDEA Karl Popper Debate Championship taking place in Vlissingen, the Netherlands from July 22-27, 2010. Currently we have 52 teams and would need about 7 more judges, to ensure high quality judging!

We will cover your participation fee (your accommodation, food, insurance), so all you need to do, is to get to Vlissingen train station and judge at the KPDC. We might ask a few of you to serve as a coach for a team that does not have their own coach. For more information and conditions, please see below and please contact Veronika Vlckova, the Youth Forum Director ASAP!

If you are interested please send your CV, highlighting your debate judging experience and briefly answer a few questions below to give us a better picture:

How long have you been debating and how long have you been judging? Please specify how many tournaments a year have you attended (please specify this separately for judging and debating)? How many rounds do these tournaments have? What is their size? Are they local, national or international? What is the official language used at the tournament? Have you received any awards (individual or team achievements)?

How many international competitions have you attended in the last 3 years? Please list them and specify your role.

Have you been coaching a debate club? If yes, for how long? Please include how often you meet and your areas of concentration (preparation for competitions, current events, topics, debate methodology).

Contact Veronika Vlckova as soon as possible! The spots might be gone by the end of weekend!