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.