OSCE Mission to Moldova organizes first youth debate tournament

The OSCE Mission to Moldova organized the first in a series of three debate tournaments for 35 selected high school students from Bender, Cahul, Ceadîr-Lunga, Comrat, Taraclia, Tiraspol and Vulcănești. During the event, which took place on 26 September 2015 in Comrat, the young participants deliberated on the positive impact of increasing the number of women in politics.

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.

“Such debate tournaments are not only an effective way of strengthening students’ public speaking skills – they also serve to stimulate dialogue and develop a debate culture, something that is lacking in contemporary Moldovan society,” said Mihail Sirkeli, executive director of the Piligrim-Demo NGO.

The event was organized as part of a three-year project implemented jointly by the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the Piligrim-Demo NGO to support the engagement of national minority youth and civil society in public discussions and public service. Two more debate tournaments will be organized by the end of this year.