Participants depart from the Netherlands as another successful Youth Forum concludes

This week, the sixteenth-annual IDEA Youth Forum came to a close in the Province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. On the evening of August 3rd, the 260 participants, which included debaters, coaches, and trainers, all said farewell to each other at the 2010 closing ceremony.

The 2010 Youth Forum began on July 22nd, and for the two and a half week duration of the event, students and educators developed their debating and public speaking skills through a series of classes about debate and this year’s forum debate topics. Debaters then utilized their new skills and knowledge to compete in debate tournaments. And, as another Youth Forum has concluded, the winners of this year’s tournaments have also been recorded in history.

The Karl Popper Debate Championship (KPDC) finals took place on Monday, July 26th, as debaters vigorously competed for the prestigious traveling KPDC trophy. The UK team on the affirmative and the team from Lithuania on the negative debated the topic, “In some cases juveniles should be tried as adults.” In the end, Lithuania won the debate, and took home the tournament trophy. Congratulations Lithuania! Click here to see the full results. Watch video coverage of the KPDC final debate here.

The Mixed Team Tournament (MTT) finals took place on the last day of the forum, which was followed immediately by the closing ceremony. The elimination for the Quarterfinals came down to four fun team pairings: MIBU vs. Muffinssss, So Not Sarcastic vs. UKAR, Team United vs. Kings, and USK vs. Rh1nos. These teams debated the topic, “Governments should preserve rural life.” Look for the finals results and video coverage of this tournament to be posted soon!

The 2010 IDEA Youth Forum was 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.