IDEA Youth Forum

The IDEA Youth Forum (IYF) is an international event organized by the International Debate Education Association that brings together students, coaches and trainers from all over the world in for two weeks of debating, learning and exchanging ideas on global topics.

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Celebrating Debate and Critical Thinking
The Forum is one of the most important single events organized by IDEA - on an annual basis, it brings together secondary school and university students and teachers from IDEA member organizations for a period of two weeks. Each delegation includes ad least one team of secondary school students , a teacher and a debate coach. The number of participants revolves around 300.

Locations
Each year, the Forum is hosted by one of the members of IDEA and it takes place in a different country each year.

* 1995 - Tata, Hungary
* 1996 - Celakovice, Czech Republic
* 1997 - Jurmala, Latvia
* 1998 - Borovets, Bulgaria
* 1999 - Veli Losinj, Croatia
* 2000 - Ustron, Poland
* 2001 - St. Petersburg, Russia
* 2002 - Podbanske, Slovakia
* 2003 - Ljubljana, Slovenia
* 2004 - Roosta, Estonia
* 2005 - Struga, Macedonia
* 2006 - Predeal, Romania
* 2007 - Trest, Czech Republic

Competitive Events
The Forum revolves around two separate competitive events, National Tournament , as well as Mixed-Team Tournament, featuring teams composed of members from different countries. The tournaments feature two separate themes as a guideing point for the Forum happenings. Traditionally, the Tournament of Nations features the topic of the previous Mixed-Team Tournament.

In the past the themes of the Forums included, but not limited do, freedom of the press, the welfare state, the environment, and cultural rights. For a complete listing of the past and current topics, as well as winning teams and best speakers, please see the bottom of the article.

The style of debate practiced at the Forum is Karl Popper .

Language
The official language of the Forum is English.

Educational Components
The program for the Forum includes content sessions on the proposed topics, general sessions on debate, "lab" sessions centered on the preparation for debates.

Content Sessions
The main goal of the sessions on the topic is to provide students with the knowledge and understanding of the problems related to the subject area which is determined by the particular topic. This component of the educational track for students includes the following:

* definitions and conceptualization
* theory
* study of primary and secondary sources
* case-studies
* simulations

Debate Sessions
The main goal of the sessions on debate is to enhance students understanding of debate theory and practice and includes the following:
* case building
* argumentation
* various debate strategies
* organization
* presentation

Lab Sessions
The main goal of the lab sessions is to provide students with the opportunity to test their knowledge and skills gained in the previous two sessions by working in international groups on preparation for debates. The debate tournament that takes place at the end of the Forum measures what the students have learned about the topic, how well they have developed their debate skills, and how much they have gained from working with their coaches and interactions with each other.

Developing Skills
The Forum prepares students for the role of socially-aware citizens by providing them with the opportunity to closely examine issues of economic, social, political, and cultural importance. Through debate and involvement in other forms of public advocacy, the students learn about democratic procedures, developing tolerant attitudes towards the opinions of others. The Forum provides them with knowledge that is imperative to the citizens living in a pluralistic and open society.

During the Forum the participants develop their skills of personal expression and critical thinking. These abilities are invaluable in the context of modern society were personal success of individual depends on his ability to analyze complex issues, solve problems, and effectively communicate with others.

Opportunities
The Forum offers a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about each other's culture to explore their differences and to discover similarities. Many students participating in the Forum come from the regions which a have a sad record of ethnic tensions and it is of vital importance that these students can meet in an international and tolerant environment and learn how to discuss various issues in a peaceful and reasonable manner.

The Forum also provides the teachers and coaches with the opportunity to satisfy their need for new and innovative teaching methodologies through:

* providing formal and informal setting for the exchange of experience in teaching debate and public advocacy
* providing the environment for the creation and exchange of educational materials
* providing the opportunity to learn more about a selected topic area and methods about introducing the theme into formal and informal education.
* providing the opportunity to gain experience in working with international students

Past Topics
* 1995, The State has an Obligation to its Poor
* 1996, Government Censorship of Individual Expression for the Good of the Society is Justified, National Service should be Mandatory for All Citizens
* 1997, Open Societies Require Open Borders
* 1998, The State Should provide Education Only in its Official Language
* 1999, Civil Disobedience is Justified
* 2000, About the Protection of Environment and Economic Development
* 2001, The United Nations Should Expand the Protection of Cultural Rights
* 2004, It is Better to Focus on a Harm Reduction Strategy Than a Law Enforcement Strategy when Dealing with Drug Abuse
* 2005, A Policy Should be Adopted to Promote Global Compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child
* 2006, The World Fresh Water Should be Considered Common Property
* 2007, Hate Speeches

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