OSCE Mission to Moldova supports youth engagement in second debate tournament of 2015

The OSCE Mission to Moldova organized the second in a series of three debate tournaments for 24 students and six teachers from Bender, Ceadîr-Lunga, Comrat, Tiraspol and Vulcănești. During the event, which took place on 24 October 2015 in Ceadîr-Lunga, the young participants deliberated on how to achieve professional development goals.

The debate tournament provided the students with the opportunity to put into practice the skills they acquired during a training event on the Karl Popper debate format organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova in June 2015. The aim of this follow-up tournament was to establish academic debate as a means of promoting civic education and developing critical thinking among young people, while also building confidence among youth from both banks of the Nistru/Dniester River.

“Debate is an excellent educational and training tool, and we are happy to see that students and teachers in Moldova are increasingly using debate to foster students’ critical thinking and creativity,” said Ludmila Samoila, National Legal Officer at the OSCE Mission to Moldova. “We would like to see debate clubs developing in schools throughout the country and plan to further support this process.”

The event was organized as part of a three-year project implemented jointly by the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the NGO Piligrim-Demo to support national minority youth and civil society to engage in public discussions and public service. One more debate tournament will be organized in November 2015.