Sign Up - The Global Debates

6 days into the campaign and the number of schools registering is starting to run high! Currently we have 75 schools from 35 countries - and all continents - and we aspire to reach 100 by Monday October 11. Why wait? Help us achieve our goal and register now!

Another good reason to register is that you will be in on the best strategies to earn thousands of points within The Global Debates contest and WIN the grand prize – the trip to the 2011 IDEA Youth Forum in Istanbul, Turkey.

Here are the 10 tips from Veronika, who was in charge of the 2010 IDEA Youth Forum:

1. Start planning early! There is nothing more disappointing than having great ideas and not being able to carry them out because of bad time-management.

2. Brainstorm and go wild! Start with a blank sheet of paper and only the motion written in the center of the sheet. Then let everyone speak for 2 minutes about possible projects, events and ideas they have about how your team can participate in The Global Debates. After everyone is finished do another round expressing opinions about the ideas of others. Finish with a list of possible activities that the whole group would like to do.

3. Make sure you take notes! At the beginning of each 'staff' meeting assign a chair and a note-taker for that session. The Chair should make sure all the points on the agenda for that meeting are discussed in a timely manner and that everyone had an equal chance to speak up. The note-taker should write down the main points as well as conclusion that were discussed at that meeting and should make sure there is a provisional agenda for the next one.

4...more in the Friday's The Global Debates newsletter, which you will receive only by signing up for it here or registering your school here.

Last week we began our search for new partnerships to boost the impact of our campaign. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following organizations for their willingness to help: United Nations Foundation and National Forensics League – USA, Abusua Foundation – Ghana, Africa Youth Trust – Kenya, New Communication Club – Belarus, National High School Debate League – Moldova, Slovak Debate Association (SDA) – Slovakia, Lithuanian Debate Youth Program, Mongolian education association (MEA) – Mongolia, Asocijacija za kreativnu komunikaciju i debatu (ACCD) – Serbia, Verbattle – India, Debate Ghana, Bulgarian National Debate Association (BNDA) – Bulgaria, “Debate in Civil Society” Public Union – Azerbaijan, OSI Tajikistan – Debate Program – Tajikistan, Center of Cultivating Dialogue (CCD ) – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Debate Ghana Association - Ghana, National Debate Council – Uganda, Levizja FOL – Kosovo and Zentrum Polis – Germany.

The most successful partner in reaching out to their schools so far has been: National Debate Council Uganda. We have received 15 registrations from local high schools. Do you want to hear more about how they have succeeded? sign up for TGD newsletter at or register your school.