IDAS

So, it's this time of the year again, and the best of the best of the debate trainers from around the world will get together in Ormož again (do check Ormož, Slovenia on google maps, to get an idea, how small the town is :D ). Its the International debate academy Slovenia time.

The spots for the whole academy are more than full and we will probably break the record from the previous years and have not one, but two full hotels :D There are a couple of places left for the tournament, that will take place at the Faculty for administration in Ljubljana, a great place to be, I must say.

I will not (sad, sad) attend the academy this year, again, RL kicked in, but as I participated in most of the previous IDAS's I know how much fun it is, so I will join the team both of the weekends, for the arrival day and first lectures on sunday, and the tournament the next weekend in Ljubljana.

I know that the hotel installed a wireless internet system, that worked more or less last year, so do check out my Facebook and twitter for posts, pictures and more. I recomend that you check out Tuna's blog (http://globaldebateblog.blogspot.com) too, and Steve's (http://progymna.blogspot.com) as I know they will be posting videos and other, Jens (http://yourgermancorrespondent.blogspot.com) could be blogging too. 

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Webmaster: This is a not so short introduction of the International debate academy Slovenia (short IDAS), a debate training, that has grown in the past, and is still growing. I attended the first one, the last one and all of them in the middle, and I would still go, if I would have the time. As last year, I will have to work that week, but for sure I'll be there for the arrivals and goodbye's weekends. Hope to see you there!

The International Debate Academy is a training program for college and university students who are interested in the arts and skills of debating. It takes place in Slovenia each November and has been held for six consecutive years. This November it will hold its seventh session.

The program is sponsored by Za in Proti, the national debate program of Slovenia directed by Bojana Skrt, and the World Debate Institute of the University of Vermont in the USA directed by Alfred Snider. Skrt directs the program and Snider is the director of training.

The program was originated because there was a high level of interest in debating in Europe, especially in the former communist nations, but very little expertise for training. There were no university faculty members who specialized in speech communication, argumentation and debate, and so students were basically on their own in terms of training. The idea was to create a low-cost one-week program for these students and to try and attract the best possible trainers from other countries, especially those with a more established debate tradition.

All except for two years the program has been held in Ormoz, a small town in eastern Slovenia. It has a good rail connection and the Hotel Ormoz (two star) has been willing to rent out its entire space for the dormitories, classrooms and practice space required. Hotel Ormoz now as additional housing nearby. Hotel Ormoz serves three adequate meals a day to all attendees.

The program has attracted some of the finest trainers from around the world, from places like the USA, UK, Australia, Singapore, Germany and many other nations. The presidents of the World Debate Council and the European Debate Council have been faculty. Former British and American champions have trained here. The program has also been used to prepare a new generation of trainers from the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Former students, who have become European champions, have returned to serve as trainers. Trainers have included professors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and public officials.

It is important to remember that IDAS trainers are never paid, their travel expenses are never covered and all they receive is room and board while at the academy. They do it because they love the program and they are dedicated to debating.

The program consists of five full days of training followed by a three-day tournament. Training lasts from breakfast until after a late dinner, and involves lectures, drills, exercises, elective courses and two full practice debates each day. After these training days the entire contingent boards buses and heads to a university campus or a full tournament of three days, with housing in high school dormitories.

During its history IDAS has had attendees from many nations, including:

Afghanistan
Albania
Australia
Austria
Bosnia
Bulgaria
Byelorussia
Canada
Croatia
Czech Republic
Estonia
Germany
India
Kazakhstan
Lithuania
Macedonia
Malaysia
Mongolia
Poland
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Ukraine
United Kingdom
USA
Venezuela

The evaluations of the program have been universally positive. Students have treasured the opportunity to work with so many notable international debate experts. They have gone on to achieve remarkable competitive success in heir own countries and internationally. More importantly, many of them have returned to their homes to become important, dynamic and successful leaders in creating larger and more diverse debate communities of their own. Ultimately, the goal of the academy is to bring debate and its inherent civic engagement potentials to broader populations. Whether on looks at this standard or the standard of competitive success, the academy has been a success. As the years go by even more and more will be seen from the academy graduates. The best from them still lies in the future.    

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ROUND ONE
THW make voting compulsory.

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This post will lead you to several updates and new information that we released about the International debate academy Slovenia 2008.

Because we would like to teach you what you want, not what we think you would want, we give you a big list of electives, workshops where you can pick them from a list and go to whatever you would like to listen to. Here is the IDAS 2008 Electives list

If you still think about if IDAS is something for you or not, you should see the schedule that we prepared for you. You will see, that there is almost no free time, only the evenings, that are full with party party party, things that Helena is preparing for you and will be posted soon. Here go and see the IDAS 2008 Schedule.

Last and really important, if you think that you will not be able to get all the money together to come to IDAS, we re working really hard to get some money for Scholarships. Apply for one and maybe you will get a scholarship for the IDAS 2008

Again, if you have any questions, or would like to share your oppinion on IDAS, you are welcome to post at my forum in the IDAS 2008 Thread

You can get all the info about IDAS at the International debate academy Slovenia blog.

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Debate lectures and workshops with practice debates, and it all ends with a debate tournament.

Faculty and tournament judges:

Loke Wing Fatt, Jens Fischer, Sam Greenland, Neil Harvey Smith, Steve Llano, Branka Marušic, Rhydian Morgan, Uve Poom, Alfred Snider, Bojana Skrt.

Rooms, 3 full meals and socials every evening (Helena Felc is the socials Director, so it will be FUN)

Fees: Includes all meals, double rooms, instructional materials, transportation from Ormoz to Maribor, and social activities.
200 Euros for full program, 50 Euros for tournament.

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Application for the entire program or just the tournament .

Updated info on our blog or ask questions on this page's forum

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Webmaster: Well, we have opened the application process. It is fairly simple, just scroll down, you will find links to the application form, fill it out and that's it. Just buy a plane/train/ferry/ship/bus/space rocket ticket and get to Slovenia. Don't worry Ormo? is not as isolated as it looks like :D

INTERNATIONAL DEBATE ACADEMY SLOVENIA 2008

THE BEST IN WUDC/BP DEBATE INSTRUCTION
23-30 NOVEMBER 2008

MANY WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:
Full program for university students – instruction, tournament.
Tournament for university students – tournament in Maribor.
Full program for trainers, teachers, coaches, club leaders, judges at
any level in any debate format.

SPECIFIC DATES:
Arrive in Ormoz, Slovenia November 23 2008
Instruction in Ormoz November 24-28 2008
Transfer to Maribor afternoon 28 November 2008
Tournament in Maribor evening 28-30 November 2008

FACULTY

Loke Wing Fatt, Singapore: Legendary debate trainer, WUDC breaking
judge, honorary professorship North-Eastern University China, SAID
Singapore, 4th IDAS.
Jens Fischer, Germany: Berlin Debating Union, Chief Adjudicator at
Europeans, 3rd IDAS. Invited.
Sam Greenland, UK/Hong Kong/Australia: WUDC semifinalist for Sydney,
Hong Kong world schools coach, 3rd IDAS.
Neil Harvey-Smith, UK: President Worlds Council, Chief Adjudicator
Europeans 2008, US Universities 2009, WUDC finalist, 2nd IDAS.
Steve Llano, USA: Professor at St. John’s University NY, NE USA Director
of the Year, USA National Champion coach, 3rd IDAS.
Branka Marusic, Croatia: President Europeans Council, IDAS Finalist, 2nd
IDAS.
Rhydian Morgan, UK: Chief Adjudicator and Finals judge at numerous
tournaments, Welsh Debating Federation, World Debate Institute faculty
2008, 2nd IDAS.
Uve Poom, Estonia: Europeans EFL Champion, IDAS Finalist, Euros 2008
organizer, 2nd IDAS. Invited.
Alfred Snider, USA: Professor at University of Vermont, Director World
Debate Institute, USA Coach of the Year, six recent debate textbooks,
6th IDAS.
Bojana Skrt, Slovenia: Director ZIP, twice WSDC EFL Champion coach, 6th
IDAS.

Curriculum:
Students: Each Instruction day features a main lecture, exercise and
drill sessions, and two complete critiqued practice debates. Many
elective classes offered. Many training preparation sessions offered.
Judge evaluation and training offered.
Trainers: Special track created based on the needs of attending
trainers. All welcome.

Tournament:
Sponsored by IDAS, ZIP and hosted by Debate Club University of Maribor
Faculty of Law. Six preliminary rounds and semifinals in the WUDC
format. No team caps as of now. Faculty will serve as adjudication core
and administration for the tournament.

Accommodations:
Rooms and full meals provided in Ormoz and Maribor. Social activities
organized each evening.

Fees:
Includes all meals, double rooms, instructional materials,
transportation from Ormoz to Maribor, and social activities.
200 Euros for full program, 50 Euros for tournament.

Scholarships:
We hope to offer substantial scholarships to needy applicants. We are in
negotiations with sponsors now and hope to be able to offer substantial
scholarship assistance. Get a scholarship form at the website.

Applications and information available:
APPLICATION DEADLINE 30 OCTOBER 2008
APPLICATION FORM FOR THE WHOLE PROGRAMME http://debate.uvm.edu/idasall.doc
APPLICATION FORM TOURNAMENT ONLY http://debate.uvm.edu/idastourn.doc
Questions? Ask Bojana Skrt, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Peter Mesarec, Assistant Director
Helena Felc, Social Director
Zlata Subinski, Tournament Host

Website: http://debate.uvm..edu/idas.html
Blogsite: http://internationaldebateacademy.blogspot.com/
More about ZIP: http://www.ljudmila.org/debata

We look forward to working with you at IDAS 2008!

-Bojana & Tuna

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Webmaster:I wrote allready about IDAS, probably the best way to learn and practice British parliamentary debate. I started there and am still there, this will be my sixth time (I believe so). Read it through, you will see, we have great trainers from all around the worl, people that we have worked with in the past and have proved to have great knowledge, ideas and are also fun to work with.

INTERNATIONAL DEBATE ACADEMY SLOVENIA 2008

THE BEST IN WUDC/BP DEBATE INSTRUCTION
23-30 NOVEMBER 2008

MANY WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:
∑ Full program for university students – instruction, tournament.
∑ Tournament for university students – tournament in Maribor.
∑ Full program for trainers, teachers, coaches, club leaders, judges at
any level in any debate format.

SPECIFIC DATES:
∑ Arrive in Ormoz, Slovenia November 23 2008
∑ Instruction in Ormoz November 24-28 2008
∑ Transfer to Maribor afternoon 28 November 2008
∑ Tournament in Maribor evening 28-30 November 2008

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Webmaster: I have no idea, how I've missed that, posting motions from the best debate workshop there is :D Check out the IDAS 2008 announcement  and join us. Here are the motions:

1. This House believes that all universities should have an equal opportunities officer.
2. This House believes the state should provide free education in the languages of ethnic minorities.
3. This House believes that the state should pay for trans-gender surgeries.
4. That this House would remove the right to refuse life-saving medical treatment.
5. This House would take a hard line against Iran.
6. This House believes that romantic relationships between university instructors and their students should be illegal.

SEMIFINALS:
This house believes that women should get an equal position in war with men.

FINALS:
This House believes that financial support from the state should be sufficient to live on without requiring work.

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Webmasters says: This is the place, where I first met debate. And I have participated at all the IDAS'es that there were. Believe me, I have not seen a better event to learn debate, and I saw a few, so you should really consider coming. it does not matter, if you are a beginner, or an advanced debater, you will gain new knowledge. If nothing else, Samurai debating a thing you will not hear elsewhere.  

It is with great pleasure that ZIP-Slovenia and WDI-USA announce the Sixth International Debate Academy to be held in Slovenia in November 2008.

2008 DATES ARE NOVEMBER 23-30

SEE OUR BLOG AT http://internationaldebateacademy.blogspot.com/

THREE EVENTS:

WORKSHOP FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

WORKSHOP FOR TRAINERS, COACHES AND TEACHERS

AN INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

For university students and trainers/teachers
23– 30th November 2008, Slovenia

Organized by:
ZIP – Za in proti (ZIP), Pro et Contra, Institute for the Culture of Dialogue, Slovenia
WDI – World Debate Institute, University of Vermont, USA

Webpage, registration form, scholarship form: http://debate.uvm.edu/idas2008.html

• The whole Academy (it covers 8 days full room and board – accommodation/food, training and materials) TO BE ANNOUNCED.
• Tournament only (it covers 2 days full room and board – accommodation/food, tournament expenses) TO BE ANNOUNCED.
• The payment should be made in cash on arrival.
• This is a non-profit project, and no organizers or trainers are paid for their effort. Fees are designed to cover some costs only.

Scholarships
There are limited scholarships available. The scholarship application procedure is as follows: submit a scholarship form, receive a scholarship, and formally accept the scholarship. Scholarships will not be available for travel. SCHOLARSHIP FORM WILL BE AVAILABLE LATER.

Organizing committee:
Director of the Academy: Bojana Skrt, ZIP, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Head of Training: Alfred C. Snider, World Debate Institute, University of Vermont, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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