Vermont Wins IDAS 2010 Tournament

Stephen Boyle with his team from Vermont, John Sadek and Jessica Bullock

John Sadek and Jessica Bullock have won the 60 team 24 country International Debate Academy Slovenia 2010 tournament held at the Faculty of Administration, University of Ljubljana in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Filip Dobranic and Maja Cimernan of Ljubljana, the reigning EUDC ESL champs, came second, other teams in the final Were Anna England Kerr and Crt Podlogar from Ljublljana along with the Serbian team of Goran Jankuloski and Pedrag Pevicevic from Belgrade. JUDGES:

Anne Valkering, Netherlands (chair), John Hampson, British Council, Loke Wing Fatt, Singapore, TJ Senamngern, Thailand and Maja Nenadovic, Netherlands.

Semifinals: bold go through

ROOM:  AUDITORIUM

Kerr Podlogar 1O

Williams Eng 2O

Cimerman Dobranic 1P

Pitic Moscovici 2P

ROOM: 14

Dicu Gadeke 1O

Jankuloski Petricevic 2P

Sobocan Denkovski 1P

Sadek Bullock 2O

Quarterfinals: bold go through

ROOM: 2

1 Cimerman Dobranic, Slovenia/Ljubljana

16 Alexandrescu Sovaiala-Ionescu, Romania/Argo

8 Pitic Moscovici, Romania/Argo

9 Durrani Joyce, USA/St. John's

ROOM: 3

4 Kerr Podlogar, Slovenia/Ljubljana

13 Vignevic Cirovic, Serbia/Belgrade

5 Suleic Kolundzic, Serbia/Belgrade

12 Williams Eng, USA/Air Force Academy

ROOM: 4

2 Dicu Gadeke, Romania-Germany

15 Jutersek Polsak, Slovenia/Maribor

7 Jankuloski Petricevic, Serbia/Belgrade

10 Salapic Martinic, Croatia

ROOM: 5

3 Sadek Bullock, USA/Vermont

14 Sobocan Denkovski, Slovenia/Maribor-Cambridge

6 Vrecic Zitek, Slovenia/Ljubljana

11 Velikovski Georgievska, Macedonia

Speakers:

Position	Name	Team	Total points	Average
1	Maja Cimerman	Cimerman Dobranic	481	80,16
2	Filip Muki Dobranic	Cimerman Dobranic	479	79,83
3	Marietta Gadeke	Dicu Gaeke	475	79,16
4	Eveline Dicu	Dicu Gaeke	473	78,83
5	Goran Jankulovski	Jankulovski Petricevic	472	78,66
5	Jessica Bullock	Sadek Bullock	472	78,66
7	Anna England Kerr	Kerr Podlogar	470	78,33
7	Serban Pitic	Pitic Moscovici	470	78,33
9	Mlden Suleic	Suleic Kolundzic	469	78,16
10	John Sadek	Sadek Bullock	468	78,00

Motions:

1. THW require migrants wishing to have European citizenship to pass language and value tests.

2. This House would return national treasures to their country of origin

3. This House believes that adoption agencies that receve state funding should give priority to same sex couples and infertile couples.

4. This House would require large online social networks to be controlled democratically by their users.

5. This House would refuse to negotiate with kidnappers and hijackers.

6. This House believes that Roma should be recognized as the first transnational minority in the European Union.

Quarters. 

THBT Arabic nations should stop selling oil to France until it removes restrictions on Islamic dress.

Semis. THBT the ECB should have veto power over member states budgets
Finals. THBT the free market does not make the workers free.


The oprogram is sponsored by ZIP Slovenia, World Debate Institute USA, European Union, Europe for Citizens Program and the law firm of Bickell and Brewer. 

Breaking Teams at IDAS 2010

60 teams pose before round one

Top 20 teams, top 16 advance to quarterfinals in the morning:


1. Cimerman Dobranic 15-960 Slovenia/Ljubljama
2. Dicu Gadeke 14-948 Romania/Germany
3. Sadek Bullock 14-940 USA/Vermont
4. Kerr Podlogar 14-935 Slovenia/Ljubljana
5. Suleic Kolundzic 13-932 Serbia/Belgrade
6. Vrecic Zitek 13-896 Slovenia/Ljubljana
7. Jankiloski Petricevic 12-939 Serbia/Belgrade
8. Pitic Moscovici 12-930 Romania/Argo
9. Durrani Joyce 12-917 USA/St. John's
10. Salapic Martinic 12-899 Croatia
11. Velkovski Georgievska 12-898 Macedonia
12. Williams Eng, 11-913 USA/US Air Force Academy
13. Vignjevic Cirovic 11-912 Serbia/Belgrade
14. Sobocon Denkovski 11-911 Slovenia/Maribor & Cambridge
15. Juterek Polsak 11-909 Slovenia/Maribor
16. Alexandrescu Sovaiala-Ionescu 11-902 Romania/Argo


17. Brach Krakowski 11-894 Poland
18. Lipovsek Arvaj 11-890 Slovenia
19. Weese Jager 10-911 Austria/Vienna
20. Duque Diaz 10-907 Venezuela/AUDAS
20. Bencik Fink 10-907 Slovenia


IDAS is sponsored by ZIP Slovenia and the World Debate Institute at the University of Vermont, with support from European Union and the law firm of Bickel and Brewer. 

On To Ljubljana for the Tournament

This is the view from the room at Hotel Spik where I was staying.

The International Debate Academy Slovenia instructional portion ended on Thursday night.


After a day of three lectures, nine exercise groups, twelve practice debates, ten electives and then twelve more rooms of practice debates, the day ended with the famous "Kitsch Party." Everyone came in their funkiest styles and Gavin Ilsley got his legs waxed (so his short skirt would look better) in an effort to raise money for breast cancer and prostate cancer research. I am sure there will be lots of photos later.


Friday morning buses will take everyone to Ljubljana for the tournament held at the Faculty of Public Administration at the University of Ljubljana. Some teams added, a couple had to go home, but we are looking at a field of 60 teams at roll call. Rounds one and two will be today, three through six on Saturday, and then elimination rounds on Sunday.


Stay tuned for all details. 

Electives from First Two Days IDAS 2010

People have asked me what all those electives (12 a day) from IDAS are. So, I thought I would post them from the first two days to give people ideas for training and also an idea of how we are training university students and teachers here.

ELECTIVES: IDAS 2010

SUNDAY

ELECTIVE 1 1500

Room: Jezerci

Principled argumentation - Boyle
Learn how to argue from a principled standpoint and make theoretical arguments more convincing.

Room: Spik

How to improve your Manner/Be an effective speaker - Loke

Tips on how you could improve your style as a speaker will be discussed.  You will take home some useful ways to help yourself and others to become more effective, stylistically, as a public speaker.

Room: Gobela

Persuasive Appeals - Wright

Social science as a weapon of mass consumption. This lecture will address some of the more socially scientific visions of contemporary persuasion. Including some of these devices in a debate works to demonstrate the shared space between debaters, judges, and audiences.

Room: Elevator 3

Debating Technologies, Internet and Media – Zheng Bo

Discussion of How technologies shaped our life and our social network.

Room: Rute

Yugoslavia: Once Upon a Time, There Was a Country… - Nenadovic & Avbar

History, politics, culture and religion of a country that once was and is no longer. The elective pays special attention to the breakup of the country in the 1990s, the issues that arose in the process, and the (post-conflict) democratization processes as well as EU accession prospects for the countries formerly known as ‘Yugoslavia’.

Room: Elevator 2

Strategic style – Ilsley

Learning the value of a stylistic range and how best to deploy it

SUNDAY

ELECTIVE 2 1600

Room: Jezerci

EU Integration and expansion - Boyle
An exploration of the EUs expansion to date, and a discussion of the countries currently under consideration for accession.

Room: Spik

Multiculturalism in Singapore/Asia - Loke

This is a Content Lecture on how Singapore and Asian countries pursue multiculturalism in its politics, laws, and social norms.  It will be useful for EU students to learn how people from Asian countries devise policies to accommodate the multiplicity of race, religion and language in their diverse populations.

Room: Rute

Yugoslavia – Part 2 – Nenadovic & Aybar

Contunies from part 1.

Room: Gobela

Narrative Reasoning – Wright

This elective discusses the persuasive form and function of narrative. Defining narrative reasoning and combining it with more traditional appeals to reason makes debaters more persuasive to various audiences.

Room: Elevator 3

Setting Cases for Gov and Opp – Zheng Bo

Discussions on how Opp avoid panicking and develop a coherent case to negate the Gov case in 7-min, and how Gov can well utilize their 15-min prep time to develop a case that is logically sound.

Room: Elevator 2

The lightning bug and the lightning –  Ilsley

Word choice and framing in winning debates

MONDAY ELECTIVES

ELECTIVE 1 1500

Room: Gobela

Ecological Philosophies - Snider
There are philosophical perspectives on the relationship between human beings and the ecology that can help you create coherent, consistent and compelling arguments in debates about ecological issues. They range from very human-centered to very bio-centered. These can also help you, as an individual, determine what your relationship with the ecology is and how it should operate in your life as well as in debate.

Room: Rute

EU democratisation promotion policies – chances of success - Valkering

Room: Spik

Economics for debating - Boyle
Learn how to debate some of the most pressing economic issues of the day

Room:  Jecerzi

How to find the "core issues" in a debate motion - Loke

This is an interactive session where the students will be guided to systematically discover the key ideas which should be given air time in a debate topic.  Students will go away with some key concepts/questions they should ask when discovering "core issues" in a debate motion.

Room:  Lobby 3

Speaker Roles and Team Strategies – Zheng Bo

Discussions about speaker roles and team strategies, with focus on the dynamic nature of BP debates.

Room: Lobby 2

Aristotelian rhetoric – Wright

The form and function of different rhetorical forms. Recognizing the particulars of a case and a motion, using the parameters set forth by rhetorical scholarship, debaters could prep more fluid and convincing arguments.

Room: AW 1

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? – Nenadovic

Analyzing the debate motion in order to get a clear problem definition. Many governments fail to specify what the problem is that they are addressing, and in doing so, they miss to outline the relevance of the motion. This is a highly practical elective, where we will together take apart different debate motions, review problems inherent in those motions, and devise relevant government and opposition strategies.

ELECTIVE 2 1600

Room: Spik

      Position & Treatment of the Roma in Europe - Nenadovic

Starting with the brief history of the Roma people in Europe, this electives covers the current biggest controversies relating to their position and treatment. This elective will discuss both the recent deportations from France and the rise of right-wing parties such as Jobbik in Hungary and the implications this has on the position of Roma, as well as the intended mechanisms of protection (such as the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, laws on protection of national minorities). 

Room: Lobby 3

Debating China – Zheng Bo

Information and discussions about China, such as Mainland/Taiwan relationships, Tibet, China as World Factory, etc.

Room: Rute

EU and Asylym – Valkering

Asylum policies in the EU and how they work.

Room: Lobby 2

Histories – Wright

How historiography and the epideictic shape us. Considering the international flavor of Worlds-style debate, learning and applying historical narrative in a debate could establish credibility to various argumentation claims.

Room: Jecerzi

How to find Extensions - Loke

This lecture focuses on what is a valid Extension for the Second Teams and how to find a good one, without being told by the judges that you are just "repackaging" the Upper House.  Students will take home strategies to discover a good Extension.

Room:  Gobela

Needs and Motivation – Morgan

From Maslow to Max-Neef: a look at the classic

hierarchy of needs contrasted with conflicting models of need

satisfaction

8th IDAS Begins!

Debate - WUDC - Guaranteed Income - IDAS 2010 Exhibition from Alfred Snider on Vimeo.

With a total of 140 hearty souls on hand, the 8th International Debate Academy Slovenia has begun in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. The program is sponsored by Za in Proti Slovenia, the World Debate Institute at the University of Vermont, the law firm of Bickell and Brewer, and the EU Europe for Citizens Program.

The event will feature ten practice debates, fifteen lectures, fifteen debate exercise sessions, over thirty elective classes and a number of exciting social events. Participants have come from over 24 countries to this year's event.

The event kicked off with an exhibition debate on Saturday night on the motion, This House believes that all citizens should be entitled to a basic income without the requirement of work. The first proposition team was Anna England Kerr of Ljubljana University and Stephen Boyle of University College Dublin and the University of Vermont, the second proposition team was Jessica Bullock and John Sadek of the University of Vermont, the first opposition team was Gavin Ilsley and Rhydian Morgan of the UK's Stylus Communications, and the second opposition team was Filip Dobranic and Maja Cimerman of Ljubljana University (the reigning EUDC ESL champions).

The event is being held at the Hotel Spik, a beautiful mountain resort with breathtaking views of the Julian Alps as well as lovely work rooms, living rooms and delicious food.

The director is Bojana Skrt and the academic director is Alfred Snider. Faculty include Stephen Boyle, Gavin Ilsley, Rhydian Morgan along with Loke Wing Fatt of Singapore, Maja Nenadovic of the Netherlands, Jaime Wright of St. John's University in the USA, Zheng Boof Peking University in China, Anne Valkering of the Netherlands, TJ Senamengern of Assumption University in Thailand, Steve Llano of St. John's University in the USA. Peter Mesarec and Helena Felc of Slovenia are important parts of the program.

There is a group of some 20 trainers and teachers who are attending the additional trainers' workshop. They will learn the WUDC format, coaching and training skills, as well as judging. They will begin judging as the week goes on and will also judge at the tournament.

On Friday everyone will take buses to Ljubljana where a three day tournament will take place at the University of Ljubljana's faculty of administration. Other teams from around Europe will join those already at IDAS for a major central European tournament.

For more information, check out http://debate.uvm.edu/idas.html and http://internationaldebateacademy.blogspot.com/

We will have more information as the program advances.

Social Events Announced

Helena Felc November 15 at 6:45pm Reply • Report

By Helena Felc & Gregor Janžek

Saturday, 20. November
Get to know each other party
Location: Hotel Špik
Description: Amazing party. Drinking games. Getting to know people from all over the world.
Dress code: Wear a white T-shit if you are single or in an open relationship and wear a red T-shirt if you are in a relationship. We will have waterproof pens to write on T-shirts smart witty thoughts that will cross our minds while you will pass us (not expensive T-shirts).

Sunday, 21. November
Cultural exhibition party
Location: Hotel Špik
Description: Every country gets its own table to present itself, present their national food, drinks and other. A quiz may occur and you may win an award if you will know enough facts about Slovenia and the rest of the world (and debate gossip). Also a Tyrannosaurus Rex may (or may not be) present at said party. Prepare appropriately.
Dress code: Something typical for your country or be wrapped in your national flag.
Bring: something typical from your country preferably drinkable and eatable that makes you dizzy. Bring the booze you typically drink in your country.

Monday, 22. November
Salsa party
Location: Hotel Špik
Description: People from Venezuela will teach you how to dance salsa.
Dress code: Something to dance all night long in. Shoes are important.

Thursday, 23. November
Karaoke party
Location: Hotel Špik
Description: Drink, sing, drink some more and sing better. You know the drill.

Wednesday, 24. November
Stand up comedy night
Location: Hotel Špik
Description:
HEAVEN is where:
The police are British
The chefs Italian
The mechanics are German
The lovers are French
and it's all organised by the Swiss HELL is where:
The police are German
The chefs are British
The mechanics are French
The lovers are Swiss
and it's all organised by the Italians!!
If you think you can come up with better jokes, then impress us with your very own stand-up show. We have professional groupies who will follow the best comedians.
Awards will be given to those who will make us cry with laughter.

Tuesday, 25. November
Kitch party
Location: Hotel Špik
Description: Crazy music with crazy kitch clothing with a competition of who is the »kitchiest« of them all.
Dress code: If you are a guy – dress as gay or girlish as you think you can pull off. If a girl – dress as sexy or as manly as you can. You can put on as much or as few pieces of clothing you can handle, but make sure you go gaga.

Friday, 26. November
Site seeing Ljubljana
Location: Ljubljana city center
Description: Walk around Ljubljana and drinks.
Dress code: Naked Friday! And please shave your backs.

Saturday, 27. November
Announcement party
Location: Ljubljana city center
No description needed.

Sunday, 28. November
Traditional Skleleton party
Location: Skeleton bar, center of Ljubljana
Description: party with loads of amazing cocktails (two for the price of one). You can join the secrect 4 straws of the Apocalypse club.

NEW AT IDAS 2010
A little bit inspired by Gossip Girl: IDAS will have its own gossip blog. All you need to do is write an email and the message and photos will be posted on the blog by its own. All details will be handed to you on the place of crime. We reserve the right to remove certain entries if deemed inappropriate.

See you soon,
Helena

2010 Elective Proposals from Llano, Wright and Snider

Image via Wikipedia

ELECTIVES

More will come as faculty send them in!

LLANO

Eastern Philosophy and Debating

An overview of ideas from Eastern thought that are not so much a contribution to strategy as they are a contribution to your relationship with debating. Why we choose to debate will be examined from these viewpoints as opposed to how we choose to debate. However, keen students will definitely be able to make connections between this discussion and the particulars of practice.

Debate as a Martial Art

Applying the principles of martial arts to debate reveals some approaches to debate strategy that you might not have considered and that your opponents certainly are not ready for. Examination of martial arts strategies, samurai combat philosophy will be introduced and discussed and attention will be paid to the holistic way a debater should prepare for competition.

Annoying things Debaters do but shouldn't.

A combination of a rant and an enlightening lecture from an American adjudicator who seldom breaks but is happy not to, because he won't have to hear all of these terrible things you do each round in your speeches. Come learn some more productive things to do with your speech time as well as all those parts where you are not speaking.

Ancient Rhetoric and Contemporary Practice.

The principles of the ancient arts of rhetoric come to us via the ancient Greek and Roman world. This elective will attempt to discern contemporary uses of these ideas for debate. Attention will be split equally between speech style and organization as well as argument development and construction.

Dialogue as a Debating Principle

Years after its publication, David Bohm's groundbreaking study _On Dialogue_ is still seen as a response to debate. In this session we will see that Bohm's call for dialogue contains interesting and unique principles that can only be applied to BP debating. Specifically, each position on the table can learn how to engage and interact with every other position via Bohm's insights. Time will be reserved for discussion and dialogue on team interaction in a BP round and strategies for success.

WRIGHT

Ideas for Electives:

1) Narrative Reasoning: This elective discusses the persuasive form and function of narrative. Defining narrative reasoning and combining it with more traditional appeals to reason makes debaters more persuasive to various audiences.

2) Persuasive Appeals –social science as a weapon of mass consumption. This lecture will address some of the more socially scientific visions of contemporary persuasion. Including some of these devices in a debate works to demonstrate the shared space between debaters, judges, and audiences.

3) Popular Culture—using everyday experience to persuade. According to Barry Brummett, popular culture is “those systems or artifacts that most people share and that most people know about… In speaking of popular culture, then, we are concerned with things, like television, that are part of the everyday experience of most people” (Rhetoric in Popular Culture 27). How might these applications of these systems work to flesh out a case?

4) Aristotelian rhetoric: the form and function of different rhetorical forms. Recognizing the particulars of a case and a motion, using the parameters set forth by rhetorical scholarship, debaters could prep more fluid and convincing arguments.

5) Histories—how historiography and the epideictic shape us. Considering the international flavor of Worlds-style debate, learning and applying historical narrative in a debate could establish credibility to various argumentation claims.

SNIDER

International Relations Paradigms

There are paradigms, or “world views,” within which international relations events are conceptualized and decisions are made. How you view the international system influences how you think about it and the arguments you use. This elective will examine popular IR paradigms (realism, constructivism, etc.) and explain how to use them to build a team line, come up with major arguments, avoid contradictions and have a coherent approach.

How to Make Arguments More Important

There are standard things that a debater can do to give issues you bring to the debate more “impact.” If you are aware of these significance giving ideas then you can pick the one or two that apply best to the argument you are making and use them to convince the judges that your position is more important than rival positions that lack this kind of substance.

Ecological Philosophies

There are philosophical perspectives on the relationship between human beings and the ecology that can help you create coherent, consistent and compelling arguments in debates about ecological issues. They range from very human-centered to very bio-centered. These can also help you, as an individual, determine what your relationship with the ecology is and how it should operate in your life as well as in debate.

Thicker Extensions

Too often your extension is a good idea, but it consist of you saying the same things over and over again in different ways. This elective will help you learn how to build n extension out of relevant components to make it more compelling and much harder to refute. Deliver a second team extension for 4-5 minutes and keep the interest and attention of the judges while building compelling ideas.

Avoiding Doing Irritating Things While You Speak

Many debaters have arguments and make sense, and even sound good, but still do many things in delivery of a speech that detracts from their content and makes them a lot less persuasive. Learn what these things are and learn drills to make you stop doing them.