Debate organisations look towards the future after IDEA Youth Forum 2022

We are incredibly happy we managed to hold our annual Youth Forum, a gathering of debate experts, organisers, and volunteers, in person again this year. Building on the workshops delivered, plans created and feedback collected after our community's get-together last August in Croatia, we gathered again this year in beautiful Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The event served to support the capacity of debate-focused organisations in Europe and beyond in delivering and expanding not-for-profit debate programmes in their countries. Given the immense positive impact debating can have on young people by supporting them in becoming critical thinkers and active citizens, we strongly believe that debate-based education needs to be as accessible as possible, especially to young people with fewer opportunities and educators working in underserviced areas.

Youth Forum 2022 helped us move closer to achieving that goal - with support from the European Commission and the Erasmus+ programme, we gathered 65 participants from 17 countries involved in running those programmes in a professional or volunteering capacity. The participants had the opportunity to deliver and/or attend workshops under two different tracks. Our trainer track focused on helping youth workers, teachers, and other educators diversify their teaching styles, become more confident in using debate-based methods in teaching and facilitation, and learn fow to make their youth clubs and classrooms more inclusive and conducive to meaningful discussion and learning. At the same time, our organisational track offered participants the chance to learn more about developing projects and grant proposals, retain and support key personnel in their NGOs, and support available to NGOs working with young people, including through the Erasmus+ programme.

We sincerely thank the prospective and current members of our IDEA debate community for participating in this event:

• Albania - Junior Achievement of Albania
• Czech Republic - Czech Debate Association
• Croatia - Croatian Debate Society 
• Denmark - Danish Debate Association 
• Estonia - Estonian Debate Society
• Georgia - Georgian Institute for Debate and Education
• Germany - Debating Society Germany e.V.
• Italy - Società Nazionale Debate Italia 
• Latvia - Biedrība "Debašu centrs"
• Lithuania - Lithuanian Schools Debating 
• North Macedonia - Youth Educational Forum 
• Poland - Polska Debatuje
• Romania - ARDOR
• Serbia - Open Communication
• Slovakia - Slovak Debate Association 
• Slovenia - Za in Proti
• Ukraine - NGO New Vision

As we say goodbye to this year's IDEA Youth Forum, we leave you with a few testimonials written by our kind participants. Looking forward to seeing you next year!

"IDEA youth forum is the perfect occasion to share thoughts, experiences and ideas between a great international community. Everyone is giving and taking something out of the discussion, and this is especially important for new members to improve and grow as associations and individuals." - Aurora, Italy

"I discovered a youthful & energetic international community of debaters that inspires me to work further on the sustainability of my national debate organization." - Laura, Romania

"IDEA Youth Forum is one of the most memorable experiences for me. I've met new people, made friends and built a network with those who share similar interests as I do. If you love debate or wanna have a different perspective on how to defend your ideas, this is the right place for it" - Enkela, Albania

"The Youth Forum was absolutely exceptional. It improved my skills and made me aware of new coaching strategies. The list of things I got to know and will consequently spread in my country is quite extensive, including some online resources and materials, new knowledge in handling group dynamics, and improved capabilities in things like tabbing and judging." - Maxim, Estonia

 

We hope to continue supporting accessible debate-based education and programmes around the world and are inviting prospective members to explore our mission and vision and join and/or support the IDEA network. We have exciting teaching and learning materials, digital tools, as well as in-person events for educators and young people coming up, and are hoping you will join us.