Jugend debattiert international

Jugend debattiert international is a German-language

In 2015/16 more than 2300 students at 157 schools took part in the competition. The project is integrated into the curriculum. In class students are trained in the rules of debating and enter the competition on a school level. The best students compete the next stages of the competition: school district and national level. The winners (first and second) from each of the eight countries will finally compete in the international finale. Since the fourth international finale 2010 in Berlin, the winners of the German competition Jugend debattiert support them as advisors.[3]

Structure and evaluation of the debates

The format of the debate is strictly set up: Four students, two on the pro side, two on the contra side, debate for 24 minutes in German language on socio-political issues (e.g., "Should Turkey accede to the European Union?"). The debate starts with an opening round in which every participant has two minutes to outline his or her position. In the following twelve minutes the four debaters can exchange their arguments without strict regulations. During the final round the participants have one minute each to reflect on the arguments and summarize their final position in the light of the debate. A jury of three evaluates the debate according to the following points: expertise, eloquence, conversational competence and persuasiveness. Language skills are not included in the assessment.^[4]

History

Jugend debattiert international was first carried out in Poland and the Czech Republic in 2005. Since 2006, schools in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine have been taking part in the project. In 2009 Moscow and Saint Petersburg joined the competition after a two-year pilot phase. In 2007, students from all seven countries and Germany met for the first international finale in

External links

• Jugend debattiert