There are two essential settings which need to be available for a successfull debate program: a debate club and a debate tournament. 

 

DEBATE CLUBS are usually organised after school as an extra curriculum activity or the meetings can be held in youth centers, libraries, in short in the venues where debaters can get a spacer for working and debating. In some countries debate is offered as an optional subject. 

 

There are regular meetings once or twice per week. Usually a debate club has a coordinator – a mentor – a coach,  of the debate club  who can be former debater, one of the more experienced debaters, a teachera, a youth worker, a volunteer who is familiar with the basic of debates.  Mentor of debate club is organising the work in the club – lectures, exercises, preparation for the tournaments.  The size of the debate club vary – can be from 10 to 100 students. The majority of debate clubs in continental Europe have 15 to 30 debaters.   

 

There is a lot of literature about organising debate clubs. Here are some further readings/watching we recommend. 

 

Start a debate club at  http://idebate.org/about/debate/startclub

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video lecture „Starting debate clubs“ by Alfred Snider, USA,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video lecture „Recruiting and retaining debaters in debate clubs“ by Alfred Snider, USA

 

Alfred Charles Snider, Sparking the debate: How to create debate program,  published by International Debate Education Association, New York, 2014