Debate is an invaluable activity that teaches students the fundamental skills necessary for their academic pursuits.
Whether that be improving their public speaking skills or learning how to articulate their ideas more expressively, students become more proficient speakers. Not only do they improve their communication skills, but debate also teaches students researching and critical thinking skills, as it forces students to understand and defend two opposing viewpoints on a given issue. In addition, debate requires students to research their ideas and present it with supporting evidence, teaching them how to assess different sources and conduct effective research.
While debate is an activity that teaches lifelong skills, many students are unable to access these opportunities. A couple of reasons include but are not limited to: financial constraints, a lack of established debate team, and high entry barriers prevalent in participating in tournaments.
In urban areas within the US, and especially in countries outside the US where schools lack established debate teams where students must pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to attend debate academies entrenching the elitist structure in debate. Not only that, accessing coaching services can be remarkably expensive, which many cannot afford.
“Expanding opportunities for debate beyond areas that are currently targeted”
Beyond just offering a free debate curriculum that teaches core debate skills, IYDI is committed to teach students key leadership skills. This includes how to successfully start a club at their school, how to prepare for a tournament, how to navigate key debate resources such as Tabroom. You do not need to have any prior debate experience to attend this camp. IYDI also seeks to maintain the relationships formed with students way past camps to continue providing support in their debate journey.
We firmly believe that debate is more than just attending tournaments, but giving everyone an opportunity to express themselves and find their voice.
I was honestly a bit scared when I first joined the camp, but the supportive staff helped me build confidence and self-esteem, along with teaching me new debate concepts. Through IYDI, I have learned new skills that I can incorporate into everyday tasks such as presentations, assignments, and communication.
IYDI is an excellent platform to understand debating skills. The coaches are friendly and make learning a smooth and easy process for us. The activities help us to apply what we have learned, and the detailed feedback help us to analyze and improve ourselves. I joined IYDI from India and loved everything about the workshop. I recommend IYDI to anyone who would want to learn in a stress free, enjoyable environment. I am looking forward to more events with IYDI!
