Welcome to 2012, a year of great promise and potential! Among many of the important event that took place in 2011 is the COP 17 in Durban. For many people who were involved, the COP 17 is just another example of failed international talks. Some people were so dissatisfied that they created an OccupyCOP17 movement. When is comes to environmental issues, the interdependence of people is undeniable. What are the responsibilities of developed nations when it comes to the environment? How can nations be held accountable for not upholding environmental protection standards? Is it the responsibility of developed nations to assist developing nations in conservation efforts, leading to sustainable development?

The Antwerp conference ‘Connecting youth with society–sharing innovative approaches to youth inclusion’, 8th and 9th December was a great success. After the opening session more than 230 participants could choose out of 35 different workshops, organized around 6 themes like improving relationships between young people and the police and participation and inclusion in schools. With support from Youth in Action – IDEA was able to have lifestreaming during the conference in order to involve partners from the ‘Debate for dialogue and learning’- project. Find below what has been recorded during the conference. More information on the programme, the different workshops and the presentations you can find here.

Opening Session

Keynote Address & Panel Discussion

Panel Discussion on Ethnic Profiling

My City Real World

Flash Mobs in Roma Inclusion

Campaign for Fair and Just Policing

Art and Youth

Positive Deviance

Youth as Actor of Social Change

Methods and Programs

Closing Session

AES Beginners Competition 2011 took place between 3rd and 4th of December 2011, in Ploiești, Romania. The event warmed debaters up for the upcoming academic year, full of debating competitions, but also challenged the participants in the audience to think about and discuss issues concerning civil rights and nuclear energy.
54 beginner debaters engaged in 4 rounds of debate, and the top teams advanced into the final debate, on the motion: “Nuclear energy is preferable to conventional sources of energy.”

The winning side was the Proposition, who managed to convince the judges that nuclear energy is both safer and more efficient than conventional sources of energy, making it a more profitable long-term investment. One of the most important points in the final debate that led to the judges’ decision was the safety argument. The proposition team proved that due to the recent scientific developments, accidents at nuclear power plants are very improbable. Also, they proved that even if such accidents would happen, the necessary technology and expertise to minimize its impact is in place, and further on discussed the recent Fukushima nuclear accident. Moreover, the Proposition team demonstrated that the radioactive toxic waste is nowadays well taken care of, being deposited in safe special containers, making it less dangerous than the CO2 emissions from the conventional power plants, or the disastrous oil spills. Regarding the radioactivity issue, the winning team brought into discussion a newly discovered chemical element – Thorium – which was proved to be an efficient replacement for Uranium, as it is many times less radioactive.

This event succeeded in opening a dialogue among the youth about important international issues while also providing them with the necessary tools to express their opinions. Furthermore, this project proved the local authorities that such events deserve their support in the future as well.
The other motion that was debated in 2 of the 4 rounds and in the semifinals was: “Citizens should have the right to bear arms.”

Apart from the direct impact on the participants, this event “energized” both partner high-schools and made them proud about their promising debaters. Also, the organizing team gained a lot of experience, and due to the feedback from the participants, they will be able to be more efficient and develop better and more creative projects in the future.

The competition was promoted on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/AES/163510330360709). In addition, a weekly show at a local TV channel (Alpha TV) invited the organizers to talk about the event. They discussed about the important skills that young people gain through debate and the “awakening” effect of such event on the local community, largely ignored in political debates, for example. A funny poster allured teens into joining the event and a debate club in their high school, thus making the first step, as “younglings” and then “apprentices” on the path that would lead them to the zenith of their debating career, where they would be Yoda Debaters : )

Do you have examples of innovation in youth inclusion? What is going on in youth country in terms of youth inclusion or rather, exclusion?  Share your ideas, thought and experiences and engage innovation in youth inclusion.

On the 20th of October, Col. Gaddafi was pronounced dead. NATO was involved in Lybia protecting civilians under threat from attack in Lybia enforcing an arms embargo and maintaining a no-fly zone. In many African countries there are mixed feelings about the capture and killing of Gaddafi in the name of security and liberty. Share you thoughts about this issue.

Between the 15th and the 16th of October 2011 took place the most important event this school year for ARDOR Transylvania: a training for high school students in the World Schools debating format, and two other trainings on judging and club coordination, followed by a debating tournament for beginners. The event was held at “George Cosbuc” National College in Cluj-Napoca, the regional capital of Transylvania, famous for its prestigious universities and top debaters.

The event was attended by over 200 people: students, teachers and experienced debaters, arriving from several Transylvanian cities: Oradea, Alba Iulia, Brasov, Turda, Gherla, Sfantu Gheorghe and Cluj-Napoca.

140 beginner students in the 9^th and 10^th grade participated at the training that started off this event. Also, two judging trainings were held simultaneously: one addressed to experienced debaters, the other one addressed to students and teachers from all over Transylvania. The first day of training was closed by a demonstrative debate on the motion “This house believes that developed countries have a moral obligation to open their borders to immigrants from developing countries” played by two teams of achieved debaters. Teachers, students and debaters opened a broad discussion on the topic, trying to understand the topic and the moral questions it poses.

The second day a debate tournament took place, comprising three rounds on the motion “This house believes that colonial states have a duty to intervene in failed postcolonial states”. The debates had a strong educational role, as they were followed by discussions and reading recommendations from the experienced debaters.

By Bianca Dragomir

The victims of human trafficking are themselves culprits. Many of them are seeking greener pastures and are willing to do almost anything to find the. This makes it almost impossible to criminalize human trafficking.

It is impossible to have a legal system in sending and receiving countries that protects the rights and investigate the crime of human trafficking because of the complex relationship between the traffickers and the trafficked. What can be done to curb human trafficking?

My facebook news feed is full of it, I’m sure yours is too – Posts from people who are part of the popular “Occupy Wallstreet” movement. It is quite exhilarating to watch; thousands of Americans have set up camp on Wallstreet as a form of peaceful protest against corporate greed and more generally against a system that has failed them.

There are many people living and working on the margins of this failing system in different parts of the world, including yours. Is it possible to have fair trade within the current system? What is the meaning of fair? How fair is fair trade really?

In 2000, 189 countries set 8 goals, with concrete targets to be achieved by 2015. It is now 2011.  Have you heard about the millennium development goals? Click here to get a quick overview of the millennium development goals. We have just under 4 years to go and the media is still saturated with images of the victims of the drought in the horn of Africa. How achievable are the millennium development goals?

Dear members,

By now you should all have been able to deal with your Youth Forum blues, and be ready fully settled back into your respective regular routines. I hope we can keep up the fostered connections on this website. I will be on the website more often to facilitate upcoming online discussions leading up to online conference which is planned to be held on the 21^st of November.

As you know this project is about facilitating dialogue between and within selected African and European countries. In this message I would like to give  you an overview of the 6 main themes that have been identified, which affect us all, across borders and continents. You will also find some initial resources that could help in upcoming online discussions. Finally there is a timeline attached, giving an overview of what will be happening online in the weeks leading up to the conference on the 21^st of November. Please click here for more essential detailed information