Debate Academy for Schools Students About to Begin

WORLDS SCHOOLS DEBATE ACADEMY AND TOURNAMENT

Zreče, Slovenia, 5th – 12th July 2009

Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga Slovenia, www.zainproti.com and World Debate Institute, USA, debate.uvm.edu kindly invite you to participate at the International Worlds Schools Debate Academy and Tournament Zreče Open, 5th – 12th July 2009.

The Academy is divided in two parts. The training part starts on Sunday evening, and finishes on Friday lunch time. The tournament starts on Friday early afternoon, finishes on Sunday evening. The participants can apply for the whole event or for the tournament only.

High school students, teachers, coaches and trainers are invited. At the training part the participants will be divided into three different groups based on their experience and expertise - beginners, intermediate and advanced. There will be a special group for trainers and coaches. There will be small groups with a 1 to 6 student trainer ratio, meaning lots of individual attention.

Participants will be staying in Hotel Smogac in the center of Zreče. You can check about the hotel at www.smogavc.si

Prepared motions for this year:

This house has no confidence in capitalism.
This house would focus more on adapting to climate change than preventing it.
This house believes that religious belief is the most important barrier for multiculturalism.
This house would forcefeed anorexics.

Quarterfinals: This house would make only organ donors eligible for organ transplant.
Finals: This house believes trade unions should be mandatory.

Trainers:

Maja Cimerman, member of the Team Slovenia at Worlds Schools Debate Championship 2006, 2007 (EFL World Champion WSDC Korea)

Filip Dobranic, member of the Team Slovenia at Worlds Schools Debate Championship in 2006, 2007, 2008 (Top EFL speaker at WSDC 2007 Korea and 2008 USA, EFL World Champion WSDC 2007 Korea and 2008 Washington).

Anna Mojca England Kerr, member of the Team Slovenia at Worlds Schools Debate Championship 2006, 2007 (EFL World Champion WSDC Korea).

Rhydian Morgan, Great Britain, Chief Adjudictor at numerous tournaments and trainer.

David Register, University of Vermont. USA, award-winning coach.

Bojana Skrt, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia (EFL Worlds Champion Coach WSDC Canada, Korea, USA).

Alfred C. Snider, University of Vermont, USA, award-winning coach.

Anja Šerc, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia

Ruth Zisman, Doctoral Fellow at New York University, USA, award-winning coach.

Organising committee:
Miha Andric
Bojana Skrt

Attend the entire event:
Arrival on Sunday late afternoon, July 5th
Departure on Monday morning, July 12th
Participation fee: 250 EUR covers all instruction, accomodation and food for 8 nights, trainers, materials and tournament.
Application form for entire event

The participants should apply individually.

Attend the tournament only:
Arrival: Friday, the 10th, morning
Departure: Monday, the 12th, morning
Participation fee: 100 EUR covers accomodation and food for 3 nights and tournament expences.
The cost for an additional night (coming on Thursday) is 30 EUR.
Application form for tournament only

The participants should apply as 3 members teams. Each team should be accompanied by a judge.

Participation fees should be paid in cash upon arrival or via bank tranfer prior to the event. The ones who would like to pay via bank tranfer, please, contact debata@siol.net for additional information.

Application forms in the attachments. Please, send the application forms to debata@siol.net as soon as possible but not later than June 25th.

You can check the news and updates at http://debate.uvm.edu/wsda.html

SCHEDULE

Sunday, 5th of July 2009
16.00 – 19.00 Registration
19.00 – 20.00 Dinner
20.00 – 22.00 Opening, participants test, demo debate and introduction to the format.

Monday, 6th of July 2009
7:30 -- 8:30 Breakfast
8:45 Morning announcements
9.00 – 10.00 Lecture: Public speaking
10.00 – 12.00 Exercises
12.00 – 13.00 Lecture: Points of information
13.00 – 14.30 Lunch
14.30 – 19.00 Debates (preparation for debates, debates, feedback)
19.00 – 20.00 Dinner

Tuesday, 7th of July 2009
7:30 -- 8:30 Breakfast
8:45 Morning announcements
9.00 – 10.00 Lecture: Argumentation
10.00 – 12.00 Exercises
12.00 – 13.00 Lecture: Argumentation
13.00 – 14.30 Lunch
14.30 – 19.00 Debates (preparation for debates, debates, feedback)
19.00 – 20.00 Dinner
20.00 – 21.00 Electives

Wednesday, 8th of July 2009
7:30 -- 8:30 Breakfast
8:45 Morning announcements
9.00 – 10.00 Lecture: Building proposition case.
10.00 – 12.00 Exercises
12.00 – 13.00 Lecture: Motions analyses
13.00 – 14.30 Lunch
14.30 – 19.00 Debates (preparation for debates, debates, feedback)
19.00 – 20.00 Dinner
20.00 – 21.00 Electives

Thursday, 9th of July 2009
7:30 -- 8:30 Breakfast
8:45 Morning announcements
9.00 – 10.00 Lecture: Building opposition case.
10.00 – 12.00 Exercises
12.00 – 13.00 Lecture: Refutation.
13.00 – 14.30 Lunch
14.30 – 19.00 Debates (preparation for debates, debates, feedback)
19.00 – 20.00 Dinner
20.00 – 21.00 Open Forum

Friday, 10th of July 2009
7:30 -- 8:30 Breakfast
8:45 Morning announcements
9.00 – 10.00 Lecture: Third speeches
10.00 – 12.00 Exercises
12.00 – 13.00 Lecture: Reply speeches

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Prepared motions will be announced during first weekend in May.

Friday, 10th of July 2009
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch
14.30 Openning of the tournament

15.00 – 17.00
Debater briefing
Adjudication briefing and judges test

17.00 Round 1 prepared

19.00 – 20.00 Dinner

Saturday, 10th of July
9.00 Round 2 – prepared

11.00 Impromptu motion announced
12.00 Round 3 – impromptu

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch

14.00 Impromptu motion announcement
15.00 Round 4 – impromptu
17.00 Round 5 – prepared
19.00 – Dinner and socials

Sunday, 11th of July
9.00 Round 6 – prepared

11.00 Impromptu motion announcement
12.00 Round 7 – impromptu

13.30 – 14.30 Lunch

14.30 Quarterfinalists announcement
15.00 Quarterfinal – prepared

16.30 Semi – finalists announcement, impromptu motion announcement
18.00 Semi – finale
19.30 Dinner

21.00 Finale – prepared
Closing ceremony
Party

What is the International Debate Academy?

2008 faculty celebrate another successful program

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.

2009 Faculty Announced

IDAS 2009 FACULTY

DIRECTOR OF ACADEMY:
Bojana Skrt, Slovenia
Three times orld cham[pion EFL coach, World Schools Debating Championship.

DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION:
Alfred Snider, USA
Twice winning coach, Northeast USA Universities Debating Sweepstakes Champion, six debate textbooks, USA Coach of the Year.

FACULTY:

Loke Wing Fatt, Singapore
WUDC breaking judge, honorary doctorate, legendary debate trainer.

Jens Fischer, Germany
Berlin Debating Union, Euros Chief Adjudicator

Sam Greenland, Australia
Semifinals WUDC Vancouver

Leela Koenig, Netherlands
Cork Worlds 2009 Best ESL speaker, Top ESL Speaker at Euros 2007 and 2008, DCA Newcastle Euros 2009, CA of Amsterdam Euros 2010 bid

Christopher Langone, USA
Veteran lawyer, Cornell University coach

Branca Marusic, Croatia
Former EUDC President, IDAS Finalist

Rhydian Morgan, UK
CA of numerous tournaments around Europe

Maja Nenadovic, Croatia
Founder of several debating societies across Europe, currently busy with introducing debate to countries in the Western Balkans region, and with finishing her PhD in political science at the University of Amsterdam

Debbie Newman, UK
President of Cambridge Union, England and Wales National Champion, WSDC 2008 World Champion coach for England

Anne Valkering, Netherlands
ESL World Champion, Bangkok Worlds

ASSISTANT TRAINERS

Maja Cimerman, Slovenia
IDAS finalist, WSDC EFL champion

Filip Dobranic, Slovenia
IDAS finalist, WSDC EFL Champion, twice EFL top speaker, WSDC

Dates Set for Academy 2009

Sat 21 November 2009 arrival, finish on 29 November 2009 at tournament.
Once again it will be in Ormoz, tournament will be in Ljubljana.

More news coming.

IDAS 08 Videos Now Available

Faculty from 2008 pose at celebration dinner

Many videos are now available from the International Debate Academy 2008 recently concluded in Slovenia (IDAS). The videos feature a wide variety of subjects in training for the WUDC format from a wide variety of instructors from all over the world.

A complete archive can be found at http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/watch/?M=D where the videos listed as "idas08" are the ones you are interested in. This is a huge archive and may contain many other videos of interest to you.

The videos will be individually released with annotations on the Debate Video website at http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/ .

The videos are all in the .M4V or Podcast format. They can be watched from within your iTunes player or by opening them from within the Quicktime application. Because they are high quality and relatively large, you might want to download them.

For latest IDAS news go to
http://internationaldebateacademy.blogspot.com/

For Information about IDAS go to
http://debate.uvm.edu/idas.html

Full Tab for 2008 Tournament

Here is access to the full tab:

Team tabs
http://debate.uvm.edu/usudc/idas2008/Team%20Tab%20After%20Round%206.html

Speaker tabs
http://debate.uvm.edu/usudc/idas2008/Speaker%20Tab%20After%20Round%206.html

Stats
http://debate.uvm.edu/usudc/idas2008/Statistics%20After%20Round%206.html

Motions
http://debate.uvm.edu/usudc/idas2008/idas08motions.htm

Elim results
http://debate.uvm.edu/usudc/idas2008/idas08semisfinals.htm

2008 Academy Results

IDAS 2008 TOURNAMENT
SEMIFINALS

ROOM 1

1 Univ Ljubljana CIMERMAN-DOBRANIC 2ND OPP
4 Univ Ljubljana JAKOVAC-PLOSTAJNER 1ST GOV ADVANCES
5 Cornell SOLLOWAY-STITELER 1ST OPP
8 Serbia-Croatia JANKULOSKI-BLACE 2ND GOV ADVANCES

JUDGES: FISCHER, LOKE, LLANO

ROOM 2

2 Germany HILDEBRANDT-ASYAMOVA 1ST GOV ADVANCES
3 Vermont CARESS-NATALE 2ND GOV ADVANCES
6 Slovenia ZVEPLAN-CVIKL 2ND OPP
7 Slovenia PODLOGAR-JANZEK

JUDGES: GREENLAND, MORGAN, LANGONE

THBT the United Nations should send a multinational peacekeeping force to Sri Lanka.

FINALS

ROOM 1

1st GOV JANKULOSKI-BLACE
2ND GOV JAKOVAC-PLOSTAJNER
1ST OPP HILDEBRANDT-ASYAMOVA FIRST PLACE
2ND OPP CARESS-NATALE SECOND PLACE

JUDGES: MORGAN, MARUSIC, LOKE, LLANO, GREENLAND

THBT violent action to protect the environment is justified.

SPEAKERS

Position Name Team Total points Average Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6
1 Natale Caress-Natale 482 80.33 85 77 83 78 83 76
2 Hildebrandt Hildebrandt-Asyamova 476 79.33 82 82 74 77 83 78
2 (3) Plostajner Jakovac-Plostajner 476 79.33 75 79 81 79 78 84
4 (5) Asaymova Hildebrandt-Asyamova 472 78.66 81 80 76 74 84 77
4 Podlogar Podlogar-Janzek 472 78.66 80 81 79 73 80 79
6 Dobranic Cimerman-Dobranic 470 78.33 78 78 80 82 77 75
6 (7) Caress Caress-Natale 470 78.33 82 76 79 75 82 76
8 (9) Cimerman Cimerman-Dobranic 468 78.00 76 79 78 81 78 76
8 Jakovac Jakovac-Plostajner 468 78.00 65 82 82 78 77 84
8 (10) Zveplan Zveplan-Cvikl 468 78.00 75 76 78 84 78 77

IDAS 08 TOURNAMENT MOTIONS

ROUND ONE
THW make voting compulsory.

ROUND TWO
THW not negotiate with the leaders of Iran.

ROUND THREE
This house would not prosecute battered wives for killing their husbands.

ROUND FOUR
TH would allow the advertising of prescription drugs.

ROUND FIVE
THBT governments should not bailout failing corporations.

ROUND SIX
This House would ban international adoption.

SEMIFINALS
THBT the United Nations should send a multinational peacekeeping force to Sri Lanka.

FINALS
THBT violent action to protect the environment is justified.

Full results at bottom of USA WUDC results page:
http://debate.uvm.edu/usudc/usudctab0809.html

2008 International Debate Academy Begins

Sam Greenland speaks in the demo debate

Arrivals can be difficult and this one was no exception. All are now here and safe. Now we are about 80 people from 15 countries here for a week before we move to Maribor for the tournament.

Sunday night most people had arrived and a demo debate was featured. The motion was “This house would punish parents for the crimes of their minor children." It was an all-star cast, with Debbie Newman (world champion WSDC coach for England, England-Wales debate champion, former president of Cambridge Union) debating with Sam Greenland (Sydney WUDC semifinalist in 2007, former Hong Kong WSDC coach) were opening proposition, Sam Natale (top speaker, Northeast Universities 2008, University of Vermont) and Lucas Caress (top speaker, Global Youth Debate Conclave, Bangalore 2008, University of Vermont) were closing proposition; Filip Dobranic (twice top EFL speaker at WSDC, University of Ljubljana) and Maja Cimerman (EFL world WSDC champion, University of Ljubljana) were opening opposition, and last but not least Steve Llano (former national champion coach in USA, St. John's University) and Loke Wing Fatt (Singapore, WUDC breaking judge, father of debate in China) as closing opposition. It was a very spirited debate, chaired by Berlin Debating Union's Jens Fischer, and caused a great deal of discussion among he students. The video is coming soon.

Each day has the same schedule. There is an 8:45 AM organizational meeting at breakfast, followed by a series of lectures divided by experience level. After one hour there is a brief break before we meet again for an hour of drills on the subject of the lectures to help turn theoretical materials into behavior and habit. Then a motion is given and everyone has a debate with a long critique. There is a lunch break followed by a digestion break before the afternoon's activities take place. There are two one-hour period for elective classes. During each of these periods between five and seven different topics are offered, and students can choose which they would like to go to. I will send along a list of enacted electives later. After the second elective of the afternoon another motion is announced and with another debate and a long critique before dinner.

The first practice debate motions were:
1-THW pay a salary to stay-at-home parents
2-TH would create separate units for gays in the military.
3-THBT supporting Georgia's NATO bid is more important than maintaining good relations with Russia.
4-THBT the capitalist experiment has failed.
5-THW criminalize Holocaust denial.

Evenings have had a considerable social component. On Monday night the Country Exhibition took place where students brought items, foods, beverages and other things from their country on display and shared them with everyone. This was a robust affair of international fraternity and lasted well into the night. On Tuesday evening the traditional Slovenian "Kitsch Party" took place. Students swapped clothing and dressed outrageously for the party. It raged for quite a while before the judging took place. Sam(antha) Ricker of the University of Vermont was the winner, looking quite good in ponytails and wearing Helena Felc's pajamas. Second place was Don(na) Bracciodieta of St. John's, who had nice cleavage. Pictures will be coming along soon.

Having been at all six International Debate Academy sessions, I would say that the experience level and excellence of the teams is growing immensely here and all over Europe and the world.

Stay tuned for more from Ormoz.

Arrival & Tournament Schedule

SUNDAY ARRIVAL SCHEDULE IN ORMOZ

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 23 2008
1900 Dinner at Hotel Ormoz
20.00 Opening Session
Introductions
Brief introduction to the format-Newman
Exhibition debate
Discussion of exhibition debate
Students take assessment test for group assignments
Students vote for elective choices
Socialize and find a debate partner

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28 2008
1600 Check into Maribor dorms, Registration opens
1630 Leave dorm, walk as a group to the tournament – Faculty of law
1700 Opening Assembly
1800 Round 1
Dinner at the tournament venue
2000 Round 2

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29 2008
730-830 Breakfast
900 Round 3
1130 Round 4
1300 Lunch
1430 Round 5
1630 Round 6
1900 Dinner & Break announcement
Break Party

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 30 2008
730-830 Breakfast
900 Announcement of pairings and motion
930 Semifinals
1130 Final Round
1230 Closing Ceremonies
1300 Departure

Arrival Information - IMPORTANT

From Bojana Skrt:

We will see in a week and I am resending you my email with the information about traveling to Ormož and extra nights accomodations and other things. Here is my mobile phone number in case you need some emergency assistance: + 386 41 423377. Please, in case you are not coming, let me know as soon as possible.

Have in mind that all the extra nights prior to 23rd November should be paid to the Hotel Ormož and that in case you need an extra night in Maribor, you can not stay in the Dijaški dom Drava, where we are staying during the tournament, but you need to find some other accomodation.

Please, check IDAS web page and blog for the programme and all updates:
Website: http://debate.uvm.edu/idas.html
Blogsite: http://internationaldebateacademy.blogspot.com/


Here are a few bits of information I would like to share with you.


1. In case you can not come, please, inform me immediatly – we do have a waiting list of debaters who want to come and we can not accept them because of lack of the space, this is true for the whole Academy and tournament only.

2. Venues

In Ormož we are staying in Hotel Ormož, www.hotel-ormoz-grozd.si. It is a modest hotel, but comfortable hotel, nothing fancy, there are mainly two bed rooms with your own bathrooms and TV. There is no wireless internet, you can check your emails in Ormož youth center or the public library. The adress is Vrazova ulica 5 – it is located in the very center of Ormož near main bus station, 8 minutes from the train station.

In Maribor we will be staying in highschool dormitory Dijaški dom Drava, www.dddrava.si, adress is Smetanova 67. It is located in the center of Maribor. There are two or three bed rooms, a few rooms are sharing the bathrooms.

The tournament will be held at Faculty of law, University of Maribor, www.pf.uni-mb.si, adress: Mladinska ulica 9, Maribor

3. Extra nights
The registration fee 200 EUR covers the whole Academy - from dinner on the 23rd November to breakfast on the 30th.

Tournament only
The registration fee for the ones who are coming only for the tournament is 50 EUR, it covers the accomodation and food from dinner on the 28th till breakfast on the 30th. You should plan your departure from Maribor in early afternoon.

All the extra nights should be paid by you directly to the hotel. If you need an extra night in Hotel Ormož, please, inform me about it and I will make the reservation.

If you need an extra night in Maribor, you need to make your own reservation.
VERY IMPORTANT – YOU CAN NOT BE IN DIJAŠKI DOM DRAVA FOR EXTRA NIGHTS. You need to make reservations in some other hotels - at the end of this email I am sending you the low costs options in Maribor – you can book them via Internet.

4. Registration
The Ormož registration starts on Sunday, the 23rd at 16.00. Please, do not forget the first session starts at 20.00 on the 23rd, so plan your trip accordingly.


The check in in Dijaški dom Drava starts at 14.00. The registration for the tournament starts at Faculty of law at 16.00. The tournament starts at 17.00.

Everybody from Ormož will leave together by bus from Ormož to Maribor, no extra fee for this travel.

4. Travelling to Ormož
Ormož is well connected by train.

Coming from Vienna or Graz – you should take the train to Maribor - Pragersko -Ormož. Sometimes you need to change the train in Pragersko.

Coming from Ljubljana - sometimes you need to change in Pragersko – Ormož

Coming from Budapest – the train stops in Ormož.

In case you are coming as a group it might be more convinient and not so much more expencive than train we send you a van to pick you at the airport and bring you to Ormož. In case you are flying in really late, this would be the only option – so if this is the case, let me know, so I can arrange a pick up for you.

In case you are coming in Ljubljana before 23rd, there are some limited crashes available with Slovenian university students – let me know if you need them.

Here is the train schedule

>From Ljubljana to Ormož, the price is around 10 EUR one way

Ljubljana Departure 05:45 Pragersko Arrival 07:21 Pragersko Departure 07:31 Ormož Arrival 08:18


Ljubljana Departure 07:40 Ormož Arrival 10:25


Ljubljana Departure 10:18 - Pragersko Arrival 12:17 Pragersko Departure 12:57 Ormož Arrival 13:43

Ljubljana Departure 12:45 Pragersko Arrival 14:49 Pragersko Departure 15:10 Ormož Arrival 15:41


Ljubljana Departure 17:25 Pragersko Arrival 19:29 Pragersko Departure 19:44 Ormož Arrival 20:15
>From Maribor to Ormož, costs around 3 EUR one way
Maribor Departure 07:00 Ormož Arrival 08:18

Maribor Departure 12:25 Ormož Arrival 13:43

Maribor Departure 14:15 Pragersko Arrival 14:34 Pragersko Departure 15:10
Ormož Arrival 15:41

Maribor Departure 15:25 Ormož Arrival 16:35

>From Maribor to Ljubljana, costs around 6 EUR one way
Sometimes a change of trains is needed in Zidani most.

Maribor 14:15 Ljubljana 17:03

Maribor 15:14 Ljubljana 17:32

Maribor 15:20 Ljubljana 18:03

Maribor 16:20 Ljubljana 18:45

Maribor 17:15 Ljubljana 19:58

Maribor 18:00 Ljubljana 20:25

Maribor 19:45 Ljubljana 21:38

Maribor 21:00 Ljubljana 23:28

>From Graz to Maribor, 13 EUR one way
Graz 8.36 Maribor 9.38
Graz 10.36 Maribor 11.39
Graz 14.02 Maribor 15.04
Graz 15.40 Maribor 16.50
Graz 18.37 Maribor 19.39

Maribor 12. 42 Graz 14.47
Maribor 14.14 Graz 15.17
Maribor 16.21 Graz 17.24
Maribor 18.19 Graz 19.22



ACCOMMODATION IN MARIBOR

Hotel Piramida ****

Position: city centre
Bus stop distance < class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.termemb.si/EN/default.asp?id=2617">http://www.termemb.si/EN/default.asp?id=2617



Hotel Orel ***

Position: city centre
Railway station < class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.termemb.si/EN/default.asp?id=2635">http://www.termemb.si/EN/default.asp?id=2635



Hotel Bellevue ****

Position: near Maribor

Hotel Belllevue in Pohorje near Maribor is a pleasant hotel attracting guests throughout the year with its interesting a creative offer.

The wonderful atmosphere of the Bellevue wellness center will provide a relaxing experience for hotel guests as well as outside visitors; the center also features a wide offer of saunas:

- Aroma steam baths - Turkish baths;
- Extreme Finnish sauna;
- Chromotherapeutic sauna;
- Laconium - mild sauna;
- Showers of surprise.

Care and relaxation are also provided in Ciproš, in the form of massages and pampering for two.

Homepage: http://www.termemb.si/EN/default.asp?id=1456



Garni hotel Tabor ***

Position: near city centre

This carefully maintained family hotel is located not far from the centre of Maribor, and is in the vicinity of the multi-purpose event centre Dvorana Tabor and a tennis centre. We offer contemporarily furnished rooms, a restaurant, two clubrooms, three meeting rooms and storage for skies and bicycles. We bring pleasure to groups, sportsmen and women and permanent guests with special offers.

Parking, storing of bicycles and skies, e-mail and connection to Internet are all free of charge. Free use of meeting rooms for groups with board and lodgings in the hotel. For private vehicles and buses there is an enclosed car park, which is free of charge. For a supplement we organise excursions and sightseeing trips.

Double room standard – separated beds – 31€ person per night

Hompage: http://www.hoteltabor.podhostnik.si/



Hotel UNI ~ Youth hostel **

Position: in city centre

The Youth Hostel Hotel Uni is a member of the youth hostel network in Slovenia within the scope of IYHF (INTERNATIONAL YOUTH HOSTEL FEDERATION).
The Youth Hostel Hotel Uni is suitable for the traveelers who plan to stay in Maribor only a few days (daily rental). The holders of the International Student Identity Card (Hostelling International) and members of the Traveller`s Association of Slovenia have special benefits.

Youh Hostel UNI has been awarded 5 triangles, the highest award in the Slovenian youth hostel categorization.

Youth Hostel UNI offers:
accomodation in city centre (historical and culture sights), single, double and tripple rooms with private bath with towels and hotel cosmetics,
single, double and tripple rooms with linen, mini fridge, telephone and internet acces
use of the mini kitchen,
use of the computer room with internet access,
free rent-a bike,
open 24-hours and all year long.
Supplement for selfservice breakfast.


Extremely important is also the location of the hostel. Namely, the hostel is situated in the centre of Maribor in the approximate vicinity of the Rectorate of the University of Maribor, the Faculty of Economics and Business, the Faculty of Natural Sciences, the Faculty of Law and also the University Library.


Single room – 25€ person/night
Double room – 25€ person/night
Tripple room – 25€ person/night

Homepage: http://www.termemb.si/EN/default.asp?id=2649



Lollipop hostel

Position: city centre

A newly opened and as yet small, but friendly, true travellers/backpackers hostel in the centre of Maribor. Minutes from the main bus and rail stations and yet in the heart of the city.

Two blocks awy from the City Park.

Full use of kitchen any time of the day. Full use of chill out room with Cable TV, DVD with free films to view, Hi Fi, Games Console with hundreds of games to play. Free Internet. Bed Linen and Towels Included. Constant Hot Water.

Escort around town to show you the best of Maribor, including the beautiful River Drava, Shops, Museums, Theatres, Restaurants, Clubs and the best Kebab shop and pizza bar, not to mention a tour of local bars to share a beer or two.

Bed in 4-bedroom – 20€ person/night
Bed in 6-bedroom – 20€ person/night


More accommodation possibilities: http://www.slovenia.info/?_ctg_namestitev=0&title=Accommodation

Jens Fischer on International Debate Academy

Jens judges a debate at IDAS

Why is IDAS a good thing to attend?

Having coached young debaters at the past two International Debate Acadamies in Slovenia, I feel that this academy provides a unique learning environment. With international coaches from different continents, and different debating systems, students are able to compare different views and choose from a wide variety of interesting subjects. The unique framework provides ample opportunity to actually discuss problems in some depth, as opposed to just repeating ready-made answers. During the IDAS week, all student will be able to intensively practice their skills, so that real progress can be made.

IDAS is a lot of fun. The days are filled with hard work, but also with hugely entertaining activities. The fact that IDAS is held in Ormoz contributes immensely to establishing an atmosphere of severe working and severe partying.

I have never been to a more international academy, with students from dozens of countries. In Europe, there is no academy like this, and probably this is a unique institution worldwide. The competition at the end of the academy has proved to be a great way of putting all the things you have learned into action, facing competent judges and receiving helpful feedback.
I could not think of any other place if you really want to get into international debating and to meet people from different continents and all sorts of backgrounds. In my opinion, there is no way you could not benefit from attending IDAS 2008.

IDAS 2008 Full - Join Us at the Tournament

The International debate Academy Slovenia is now full. We have every room in the Hotel Ormoz full and even some additional spaces. Thanks to everyone who has shown such great support for the program. We are at our limit for the instructional part of the program. We are proud that so many have recognized us as the premier Worlds format training program on the globe.

But there is still an opportunity for you to join us and be part of what we are doing. There are lots of spots open for the tournament component of the program. The tournament will be a full service event hosted at the Faculty of Law in Maribor, Slovenia. The program will begin afternoon of 28 and continue until 30 November 2008. Join us for a vigorous and economical tournament. We will offer housing, meals and complete tournament entry fees for 50 Euros per person.

We offer great judging, featuring our remarkable faculty, including:

• Loke Wing Fatt, Singapore: Well known Asian 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.
• Sam Greenland, UK/Hong Kong/Australia: WUDC semifinalist for Sydney, Hong Kong world schools coach, 3rd 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.
• Debbie Newman, UK: Past president of Cambridge Union, England & Wales National Champion, former Director of Centre for Speech & Debate at English-Speaking Union, England World Schools coach and WSDC world champion coach.
• Alfred Snider, USA: Professor at University of Vermont, Director World Debate Institute, USA USA Coach of the Year, six recent debate textbooks, 6th IDAS.
• Bojana Skrt, Slovenia: Director ZIP, thrice WSDC EFL Champion coach, 6th IDAS.

Book your spot at the tournament now. There are cheap flights to Graz, Austria via Ryanair and other options, with an easy train connection to Maribor.

For more information contact Bojana Skrt at bojana.skrt@siol.net. Bojana can help you with travel arrangements.

The form to apply for the tournament is at http://debate.uvm.edu/idastourn.doc

The general website is at http://debate.uvm.edu/idas.html

See you in Maribor at the tournament!

Loke Wing Fatt on the International Debate Academy

Loke Wing Fatt from Singapore:

I will be teaching at the IDAS for the 4th time this year, and consider it a great learning experience. Interacting with each new batch of keen, motivated and intelligent debate students make me feel hopeful that they will be the new catalysts of change in their respective future careers as they hone their debating and critical thinking skills with us. Moreover, it was a fantastic way to make new friends and network with fellow trainers from around the world. Each and every student is important to us and we always do our utmost to make sure that all of them take home life's lessons we have learnt in our different debate education journeys from diverse parts of the globe.

Elective Choices Announced for 2008

For a number of years now at the International Debate Academy we have offered a series of "electives." We have time slots in the schedule where we offer 4-5 different topics at once and students choose the presentations they would like to go and learn from. We offer a broad swath of subjects and ask the attendees when they arrive which ones they like the best. We tally the votes and then create a schedule of electives.

Here is the preliminary list for this year.

ELECTIVE CHOICES

-Evidence
-Counter proposals
-Religious based law- a short introduction into Sharia, Jewish and Canon law
-EU 101
-International law-brief introduction
-Right of self detremination
-Basis of criminal law- on international level
-UN 101
-NATO 101
-Rhetoric & style
-Identifying clash
-Zen debating - knifing without the knife
-Debating rights
-Advocating Marxism
-Economics, aka how to win debates on economics against economists, by an economics grad.
-Politics, aka how to win debates on political theory against politics students, by a politics postgrad.
-Philosophy, aka how to beat utilitarians in debate, by a philosophy postgrad.
-Law, aka how to beat lawyers in debates about law, by a man who hates lawyers.
-Extensions; how to speak brilliantly as the third speaker in British Parliamentary debates.
-Samurai debate
-Classical rhetorical theory
-Advanced opposition strategy
-Debating internationally as an English Foreign Language speaker
-Public, Radio, TV debates
-Preparation before the tournament, preparation at the tournament
-Motion Analysis-Tips on how to interpret debate motions and find the core issues of debate.
-BP Adjudication-An overview of how to make fair decisions in BP debates as a BP adjudicator.
-Saving a Bad Upper House Debate- What to do when your Upper House teams are not doing what they are supposed to do? Tips on how to win the debate at the Lower House when the people upstairs are under-performing.
-Strategic POIings-Tips on how to make the most of the POIs as an "offerer" or a receiver.
-Debating in Asia-An overview account of how debating is conducted in Asia.
-Extra Practice for BP Beginners (Combination of Elective 1 and 2 Sessions together) For beginners of BP debating who want an extra session of practice during the IDAS 2008.
-MINE IS BIGGER THAN YOURS-An explanation and evaluation of various measures by which you can show that your arguments are more important than theirs. Useful later in the debate and especially in the whip speech. In a debate where both sides are winning some issues, you need to show that yours come first.
-POINTS OF INFORMATION FOR MEANIES-Get the down and dirty about how to ask mean points and give mean answers. Learn how to take their points and make them count towards your victory. Not for the squeamish. Use some of these with care. Optional funny lines will also be provided.
-REVIEWING EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ABOUT SPEAKING STYLE-This presentation will inspect experimental findings about which speaking styles and mannerisms are most persuasive to audiences. While the research is not based in debate, it has been replicated and confirmed to be the actual situation in real life. Learn how to avoid powerless language, learn which hand gestures to avoid, learn which posture is most persuasive and a lot more. This presentation will not cover the use of aroma.

Coach/Trainers Elective Sessions
-Debate formats
-Drills and games to teach debate
-Curriculum development
-Creating lesson plans, creating workshop
-Training program model
-Adjudication
-Team based research strategy
-Basic coaching tips
-Team building
-Organising and running debate club
-Creating and coordinating the network of debate clubs
-Fundraising for debate
-Organising debate tournament
-Organising public debate
-Promotion of debate activities

Academy Schedule Announced

SIXTH INTERNATIONAL DEBATE ACADEMY SLOVENIA
NOVEMBER 2008

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 23 2008
Arrival Day

1900 Dinner

20.00 Opening Session
Introductions
Introduction to the format
Exhibition debate
Discussion of exhibition debate
Students take assessment test for group assignments
Socialize and find a debate partner

MONDAY NOVEMBER 24 2008
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Lecture
Advanced: Critiques
Intermediate: Case development
Beginner: Public speaking
1015-1130 Exercises
1130 Announcement of motion
1200 Practice debate
1330 Lunch
1500 Elective 1
1600 Elective 2
1700 Announcement of motion
1730 Practice debate
1900 Dinner
Evening – Country Exhibition

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 25 2007
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Lecture
Advanced: Clash
Intermediate: Argument & content development
Beginner: Role of the speakers, case structure, note taking
1015-1130 Exercises
1130 Announcement of motion
1200 Practice debate
1330 Lunch
1500 Elective 1
1600 Elective 2
1700 Announcement of motion
1730 Practice debate
1900 Dinner
Evening – Open

WENSDAY NOVEMBER 26 2008
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Lecture
Advanced:How to win debate from the first proposition
Intermediate: Extension
Beginner: Proposition strategies
1015-1130 Exercises
1130 Announcement of motion
1200 Practice debate
1330 Lunch
FREE TIME
1700 Announcement of the motion
1730 Practice debate
1900 Dinner
20.00 Elective 1
21.00 Elective 2


THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27 2008
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Lecture
Advanced: Framing
Intermediate: Whip speeches
Beginner: Opposition strategies
1015-1130 Exercises
1130 Announcement of motion
1200 Practice debate
1330 Lunch
1500 Elective 1
1600 Elective 2
1730 Practice debate
1900 Dinner
Evening – Open

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28 2008
730-845 Breakfast
845 Morning announcements
900 Lecture
Advanced: Style
Intermediate: Advanced opposition strategies
Beginner: Case development
1015-1130 Exercises
1130 Announcement of motion
1200 Practice debate
1330 Lunch
1430 Board the bus
1500 Bus to Maribor leave
1600 Check into Maribor dorms
1630 Leave dorm, walk as a group to the tournament – Faculty of law
1700 Opening Assembly
1800 Round 1
Dinner at the tournament venue
2000 Round 2

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29 2008
730-830 Breakfast
900 Round 3
1130 Round 4
1300 Lunch
1430 Round 5
1630 Round 6
1900 Dinner & Break announcement
Break Party

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 30 2008
730-830 Breakfast
900 Announcement of pairings and motion
Semifinals
1100 Final Round
Closing Ceremonies
Departure

Scholarship Form Now Available

The form to apply for a scholarship to attend the 2008 International Debate Academy is now available.

You can get it at http://debate.uvm.edu/idas08scholform.doc

[FROM THE FORM]

Please make sure to include:

1. A written statement by the applicant explaining:

a) Why you believe you are in need of financial aid.

b) What you can offer to the intellectual climate of IDAS in exchange so that it will be a more rewarding experience.

c) What are you doing to try and raise money to pay the uncovered portion of your fees.

d) Specify the amount of scholarship required for you to attend. There will be no 100% awards.

2. A written statement from a teacher, coach, debate coordinator, collegue discussing the students' potential and past debate/training performances record.

Scholarship applications must be sent to Bojana Skrt at bojana.skrt@siol.net by October 1 2008. Scholarship awards will be announced on October 10 2008.

Debbie Newman Added to Faculty

Debbie Newman (middle) with Bojana Skrt of IDAS (left) and Phyllis Hirth (right) convenor of World Schools Debate Championship in Washington, DC 2008

The International Debate Academy is proud to announce that Debbie Newman will be joining us in 2008 as a faculty member.

Debbie Newman has been a debater since high school where she reached the final of the world schools debating championships for England. At university she went on to become the President of the Cambridge Union and was the England & Wales National Debating Champion. After graduation, Debbie went to work for the English-Speaking Union where she eventually became the Head of the Centre for Speech and Debate. She is a qualified teacher and education consultant and is the current coach of the England Schools Debate Team. She has taught and judged debate around the globe and was this year for the third time at the World Debate Institute.

Applications Now Available Online

Get them now! Send them in as soon as possible but by October 15. Space may be limited this year!

For the entire program November 23-30 2008
http://debate.uvm.edu/idasall.doc

For just the tournament in Maribor November 28-30 2008
http://debate.uvm.edu/idastourn.doc

2008 Academy Details Announced

Ljubljana mayor Jankovic chats with winning team before final round

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
SOON AT THE WEBSITE http://debate.uvm.edu/idas.html
Questions? Ask Bojana Skrt, bojana.skrt@siol.net

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

2008 International Debate Academy Announced

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

What is it?

It is the most international British Parliamentary Debate Training in the world with a distinguished training group. Attendees have come from over 26 different debating nations. The program involves a rigorous combination of lectures, skill exercise sessions and two practice debates per day. A major tournament will take place at the end. This year the tournament at the end of the Academy is open to all interested university debaters, so everybody who does not have time to come for the whole week can join us only for the tournament.

FACULTY FOR 2007 (MOST RETURNING FOR 2008)

Jens Fischer, Berlin Debating Union, Germany, Europeans CA
Neill Harvey-Smith, UK, Former WUDC Finalist
Steve Llano, St. Johns University, USA
Loke Wing Fatt, SAID, Singapore, WUDC breaking judge
Branka Marušic, EUDC President, Croatia
Rhydian Morgan, UK, Euros winner & multiple CA
Sam Nelson, Cornell University, USA
Uve Poom, Estonia, 2007 Euro ESL Champion
Bojana Skrt, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia
Alfred C. Snider, University of Vermont, USA, Director, World Debate Institute

Who can apply?

Students: For the whole Academy, everybody interested in debating is welcome, and can be beginners or they can be very experienced. The training will be divided into different tracks, based on the participant’s needs and experience, but reflecting realistic pedagogical needs.

Students: For the tournament only. Come and join us for spirited competition and fellowship. For the tournament only you apply as a team. One judge per 1 or 2 teams, 2 judges per 3 or 4 teams.

Trainers and Teachers: We will also have a track for trainers, coaches, team organizers and club trainers that will be far more flexible. See how debate training is done by those experienced, attend seminars on materials and technique, learn adjudication and a lot more.

Participation fee

• 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, bojana.skrt@siol.net
Head of Training: Alfred C. Snider, World Debate Institute, University of Vermont, alfred.snider@uvm.edu