IDEA News for July

From cphillip@idebate.org

Climate Advocacy Institute features engaging debates on the Aegean coast
Facilitators are posting Institute video as the action happens. Watch them all on BlipTV or our blog.

From instructor David Douglass:
The Debate and Argumentation track at the CAI has gotten off to a terrific start. Our group is comprised of a wide range of nationalities and interests, but everyone shares a passion for public advocacy. We began our first week by getting to know each other, and then established a grounding in debate and argument theory.

We discussed the classical roots of democratic societies, and examined the ways that public discourse contributes to social change. We zeroed in on fundamental skills of affirmative and negative argumentation, cross examination, and points of information. After that, we covered various styles of debate, with a focus on British Parliamentary, World Schools, and Karl Popper.

Each session involves a great deal of engagement and varied exercises that bring participants together for discussion and argument, so there's never a dull moment. Yesterday, we held our first full set of debates, with four-person teams and adjudication — it was a blast!

Passionate arguments made in the open air next to the gentle waves of the dark-blue Aegean — what could be better than that? Beachcombers stopped to listen, and even the seagulls seemed impressed by the authority of our rhetoric.

Next week, our work will culminate in a grand competition involving topics related to the environment. Stay tuned!
David Douglass is Interim Dean to the College of Liberal Arts, and a professor of Rhetoric and Media Studies at Willamette University

IDEA and DebateWise to hold
first World Online Debate Championship
Debatewise and IDEA are proud to announce the first ever World Online Debating Championship and formally invite you to take part.

This is an innovative competition and presents a new form of debating. 32 countries will take each other on in a knockout tournament open to anyone.

It takes place over the Internet, so you can participate from any place at any time. Debate with people from all over the world, and get to understand them better, all without leaving home. Plus, you have a full 24 hours to craft your arguments to perfection.

The competition is being run by Debatewise in collaboration with the International Debate Education Association; Chief Adjudicator is Neill Harvey-Smith, the President of the World’s Debating Council. Round 1 will start on August 10th and the winner will be declared on September 21st.

To find out more, including how to enter, please email dc@debatewise.com or visit DebateWise and we’ll be delighted to help. The closing date for registration is Sunday, July 19th.

IDEA-NJFL Nationals a huge success
The seventh annual National Middle School Forensics Tournament was held June 26-28, 2009 at St. Mary’s Hall in San Antonio, Texas, and co-sponsored by IDEA and the National Junior Forensic League (NJFL). Attending the tournament were more than 240 students from 35 schools spanning 13 states, the territory of Saipan and the guest country of South Korea. Those students constituted more than 550 entries across a dozen speech and debate events.

Champion students in each of the events included:
Policy Debate: Aritra Biswas & Shalina Chatlani, St. Andrew’s Episcopal
Student Congress: Alexa Palomo, St. Mary’s Hall
Lincoln-Douglas (Co-Champions): Ben Liu & Michael Portal, Sidney Lanier
Public Forum: Viveka Advani & Nikita Datta, Capitol Debate
Prose: Callum Morrison, St. Mary’s Hall
Poetry: Sahil Bhaiwala, The Pike School
Humorous Interpretation: Jared Naylor, St. Mary’s Hall
Dramatic Interpretation: Dane Schnake, Raymore-Peculiar
Impromptu: Harry Wood, The Pike School
Extemporaneous Speaking: Gregory Ross, Sidney Lanier
Original Oratory: Caroline Ford, Stonewall Academy
Duo Interpretation: Parker Evans and Bryce Prior, Brentwood Academy

For more details, visit the National Forensic League.

Teachers of Entebbe, Uganda complete debate training
July 3rd and 4th remain memorable days in the educational history of Entebbe, Uganda. Teachers of English and debate patrons from 10 schools within the municipality were trained in modern debates and refreshed on how to integrate debate into the curriculum for the promotion of leadership, public speaking, analytical and critical thinking skills.

Participants from over 10 schools were excited about the program and hoped for more trainings of such kind, since this opportunity was rather rare for this long-forgotten area. Participants resolved to organize annual debate tournaments and selected a four-person committee that will be mentored and coached by the trainers so that they can help organize tournaments in the Entebbe Municipality.

The local leadership couldn’t wait to throw their support behind the project. The District Education Officer, the Inspector of Schools and the Hon Muhammad Kauma MP Entebbe Municipality all attended. Hon Kauma remarked, “This is so far the first serious youth program that has come up since I was elected to parliament and I can’t wait to support [it],” says Hon Kauma.

IDEA trainers in Uganda facilitated this debate training.
Muhindo Johncation, Ugandan Debate League Program

ARDOR announces
Best Debaters 2009
Best Debaters 2009, July 6th-8th in Bucharest, took place under the auspices of the Prime Minister of the Romanian Government, Mr. Emil Boc. The event brought together some of the most talented members of the Romanian debate community – 2009 world champions, 2008 national champions, both high-school and university students and also “veterans” of the debate movement, with over 10 years of experience in the field of academic debate.

The best teams after the preliminary rounds from 7th July were qualified in the grand finale, held on 8th July, at the Victoria Palace – headquarters of the Romanian Government. The topic for the debate was “This house believes it is better to study at a foreign university than at a Romanian one”. One of the teams playing in the finale will have as a special member the Prime Minister of Romania, Emil Boc, who displayed a real interest for this debate, as he is also a university professor and as this is a very up-to-date topic for the Romanian youth.

View photos of the event online.
Monica Mocanu, Romanian Association of Debate Oratory and Rhetoric (ARDOR)

Be the Change
Peace Child International has launched the Be the Change! program (BTC!) to encourage youth involvement in local community action and development projects. Through small-scale grants for projects, youth can be the change they wish to see in their communities.

If you are below 25 years of age and have a project that concentrates on the development of your community at a local level, carefully read the program requirements and submit your proposal to Peace Child International.

Be the Change! staff will assist you in identifying your own local issues, priorities and problems and will also help you to create your own solutions.

The application deadline is October 31, 2009. To find out more, visit the site.
IDEA is not affiliated with Peace Child International or Be the Change