Cals College Nieuwegein: Engaging Four Classes in the Green Debate
On May 23rd, 2025, the Erasmus+ EU co-funded project Empowering Youthwork for the Green Debate reached Cals College in Nieuwegein, 79 students from four classes participated in a day of debate workshops. These sessions were organized to ensure that environmental issues were central to both learning and debating practice.
The workshops focused on the case study Is extremist climate activism justified? and culminated in debates on the motion:
“Climate activists should disrupt traffic and the economy more radically.”
Students were divided into small teams and asked to prepare both for and against the motion. The workshop concluded with a Middle House debate, combining structured speeches with open-floor interventions and partisan summaries. This format gave all students the opportunity to engage, challenge each other, and reflect on the complexities of climate activism.
What stood out most was the enthusiasm and creativity of the participants. Many approached the debate with fresh ideas, using the case materials not just to repeat facts but to develop persuasive strategies and connect them to broader social issues. For younger students, it was often their first debating experience; for others, it was a chance to sharpen skills they had already begun to develop.
Through these workshops, Cals College showed how debate and its outcome from the Empowering Youthwork for the Green Debate project can works as an educational method and a civic exercise, preparing students to critically engage with the urgent environmental issues that will shape their generation.
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