Monday, December 20, 2010

WDI Holds Debate Training Sessions in Ljubljana in December


While staying in Ljubljana in preparation for heading down south to WUDC Botswana I was called on by those here in Slovenia to do some training. I was glad to do it as a representative of the World Debate Institute (http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/Welcome.html) because Slovenian debaters are very serious and very anxious to learn and I love to teach debating.

On Tuesday evening 14 December 2010 I met with the debate club at the Law Faculty of the University of Ljubljana. Urska Derganc (sorry, I lack the right characters) and Gregor Janzek lead the club, and invited me to do a presentation on "Build Better Arguments." There were about 30 people there, and some of them were not debaters, but who wanted to learn more so they will write better essays as well as write better legal arguments. I reviewed the problems most often found in inductive, deductive and causal arguments. Then I talked about how to build "thicker" arguments that are deeper and more substantive, using my new models for mechanical, organic and stakeholder arguments. Then, I talked about 12 different forms of support you can use for an argument. We ended by asking volunteers to give 3 minute speeches on an assigned motion to illustrate their use of these "thicker" techniques. 17 of the 32 or so volunteered and spoke. After that we adjourned to a nearby pub for discussion and the telling of tall tales.

On Thursday afternoon 16 December 2010 I went to Gymnasia Bezigrad to meet with high school debaters. EUDC ESL champion Maja Cimerman directs this club, and once again about 30 people showed up for a session on "How to Be a Dynamic Speaker." I did my usual talk about the three laws of dynamism and how to apply them to all facets of speech delivery, and then I added some new material I had developed for IDAS about what empirical research in persuasion shows are things to do and not to do while giving a speech. There was not time for an exercise, but the reception I received seemed warm and genuine. After that I had a farewell meeting with Maja and then trundled into a taxi.

On Saturday and Sunday December 18 and 19 December 2011 I met with the Slovenia world schools team that is preparing for a tournament in Istanbul as well as the upcoming World Schools Debating Championship that will be held in 2011 in Dundee, Scotland. On Saturday morning I did a "Principle" exercise with them where I would give each pair a motion and have them immediatekly tell me what the principle would be behind prop and opp. We did about 30 or more motions in a brief time. Then, we did a speaking exercise like the one at http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/debate-exercise-speaking-drills-vermont.html where they get a motion and have to start talking immeditely while a panel of students evaluates their speaking on various features: language choices and crutch words, hands and body, voice and face and finally a general style rating and evaluation. This went really well and we decided to do it again the next day. Then we ended with a debate on "in some cases violence is justified to protect the environment." I was first opp speaker. It was a very spirited debate and afterwards Bojana delivered a long critique (in Slovenian). The next day we met again in the morning and I did a follow up series of speaking drills, this time capturing them on video. Each student would list the things they had done wrong the previous day, then I would give them a motion that they had to start speaking on immediately, and then a panel of students evaluiated them, all captured on video. Then we had a debate (in which I weas second opp speaker) on the motion, "China should adopt EU environmental standards." This was a difficult motion to debate, and they did a fine job. I was better than the day before. Again, Bojana delivered a long critique in Slovenian. This team is a very talented group but does have some rough spots. I know that with Bojana Skrt's relentless preparation they will make Slovenia proud.

Today, Monday, I prepare to leave for Botswana tomorrow. I hope they clear the snow in Frankfurt so flying south is possible!
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Saturday, December 11, 2010

Reporting from WUDC in Africa


I leave early this afternoon. I am beginning one of the longer debate journeys of my life. Global Debate will be there with me, because it is me. Follow here and on Twitter (asnider) and Facebook (Alfred Snider).  Thanks to WDI for symbolic sponsorship.

In Slovenia: debate workshops, events, pubic debates and more. 

In Botswana: arriving at WUDC early to help in planning for the logistics of this event. Thanks to OrgComm for inviting me. Watch for reports as you wing towards Africa.

At WUDC Botswana: motions, events, gossip, breaks, bid news, results. Lots of videos that will end up on Debate Video (http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/). We will see how my digital service holds up in south central Africa.

At World Debate Forum in Botswana: people, topics, speculations, and also videos from this exciting post-WUDC event.

Post WUDC Tourism: Not so much news, but you never know what may happen when I get to the Kalahari Desert.

Back to Europe for a brief breather, then back to Vermont to start the next semester of debate competition in the Northeast USA.

Thanks for paying attention!
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Sunday, November 28, 2010

Vermont Wins IDAS 2010 Tournament

Stephen Boyle with his team from Vermont, John Sadek and Jessica Bullock


John Sadek and Jessica Bullock have won the 60 team 24 country International Debate Academy Slovenia 2010 tournament held at the Faculty of Administration, University of Ljubljana in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Filip Dobranic and Maja Cimernan of Ljubljana, the reigning EUDC ESL champs, came second, other teams in the final Were Anna England Kerr and Crt Podlogar from Ljublljana along with the Serbian team of Goran Jankuloski and Pedrag Pevicevic from BelgradeJUDGES:

Anne Valkering, Netherlands (chair), John Hampson, British Council, Loke Wing Fatt, Singapore, TJ Senamngern, Thailand and Maja Nenadovic, Netherlands.

Semifinals: bold go through
ROOM:  AUDITORIUM
Kerr Podlogar 1O
Williams Eng 2O
Cimerman Dobranic 1P
Pitic Moscovici 2P
ROOM: 14
Dicu Gadeke 1O
Jankuloski Petricevic 2P
Sobocan Denkovski 1P
Sadek Bullock 2O

Quarterfinals: bold go through
ROOM: 2
Cimerman Dobranic, Slovenia/Ljubljana
16 Alexandrescu Sovaiala-Ionescu, Romania/Argo
Pitic Moscovici, Romania/Argo
Durrani Joyce, USA/St. John's
ROOM: 3
Kerr Podlogar, Slovenia/Ljubljana
13 Vignevic Cirovic, Serbia/Belgrade
Suleic Kolundzic, Serbia/Belgrade
12 Williams Eng, USA/Air Force Academy
ROOM: 4
Dicu Gadeke, Romania-Germany
15 Jutersek Polsak, Slovenia/Maribor
Jankuloski Petricevic, Serbia/Belgrade
10 Salapic Martinic, Croatia
ROOM: 5
Sadek Bullock, USA/Vermont
14 Sobocan Denkovski, Slovenia/Maribor-Cambridge
Vrecic Zitek, Slovenia/Ljubljana
11 Velikovski Georgievska, Macedonia

Speakers:
PositionNameTeamTotal pointsAverage





1Maja CimermanCimerman Dobranic48180,16





2Filip Muki DobranicCimerman Dobranic47979,83





3Marietta GadekeDicu Gaeke47579,16





4Eveline DicuDicu Gaeke47378,83





5Goran JankulovskiJankulovski Petricevic47278,66





5Jessica BullockSadek Bullock47278,66





7Anna England KerrKerr Podlogar47078,33





7Serban PiticPitic Moscovici47078,33





9Mlden SuleicSuleic Kolundzic46978,16





10John SadekSadek Bullock46878,00







Motions:
1. THW require migrants wishing to have European citizenship to pass language and value tests.
2. This House would return national treasures to their country of origin
3. This House believes that adoption agencies that receve state funding should give priority to same sex couples and infertile couples.
4. This House would require large online social networks to be controlled democratically by their users.
5. This House would refuse to negotiate with kidnappers and hijackers.
6. This House believes that Roma should be recognized as the first transnational minority in the European Union.
Quarters. 
THBT Arabic nations should stop selling oil to France until it removes restrictions on Islamic dress.







Semis. THBT the ECB should have veto power over member states budgets
Finals. THBT the free market does not make the workers free.


The oprogram is sponsored by ZIP Slovenia, World Debate Institute USA, European Union, Europe for Citizens Program and the law firm of Bickell and Brewer. 
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Saturday, November 27, 2010

Breaking Teams at IDAS 2010



60 teams pose before round one


Top 20 teams, top 16 advance to quarterfinals in the morning:


1. Cimerman Dobranic 15-960 Slovenia/Ljubljama
2. Dicu Gadeke 14-948 Romania/Germany
3. Sadek Bullock 14-940 USA/Vermont
4. Kerr Podlogar 14-935 Slovenia/Ljubljana
5. Suleic Kolundzic 13-932 Serbia/Belgrade
6. Vrecic Zitek 13-896 Slovenia/Ljubljana
7. Jankiloski Petricevic 12-939 Serbia/Belgrade
8. Pitic Moscovici 12-930 Romania/Argo
9. Durrani Joyce 12-917 USA/St. John's
10. Salapic Martinic 12-899 Croatia
11. Velkovski Georgievska 12-898 Macedonia
12. Williams Eng, 11-913 USA/US Air Force Academy
13. Vignjevic Cirovic 11-912 Serbia/Belgrade
14. Sobocon Denkovski 11-911 Slovenia/Maribor & Cambridge
15. Juterek Polsak 11-909 Slovenia/Maribor
16. Alexandrescu Sovaiala-Ionescu 11-902 Romania/Argo


17. Brach Krakowski 11-894 Poland
18. Lipovsek Arvaj 11-890 Slovenia
19. Weese Jager 10-911 Austria/Vienna
20. Duque Diaz 10-907 Venezuela/AUDAS
20. Bencik Fink 10-907 Slovenia


IDAS is sponsored by ZIP Slovenia and the World Debate Institute at the University of Vermont, with support from European Union and the law firm of Bickel and Brewer. 
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Friday, November 26, 2010

WDI Sponsored IDAS Moves Into Tournament Phase



This is the view from the room at Hotel Spik where I was staying.


The International Debate Academy Slovenia instructional portion ended on Thursday night.


After a day of three lectures, nine exercise groups, twelve practice debates, ten electives and then twelve more rooms of practice debates, the day ended with the famous "Kitsch Party." Everyone came in their funkiest styles and Gavin Ilsley got his legs waxed (so his short skirt would look better) in an effort to raise money for breast cancer and prostate cancer research. I am sure there will be lots of photos later.


Friday morning buses will take everyone to Ljubljana for the tournament held at the Faculty of Public Administration at the University of Ljubljana. Some teams added, a couple had to go home, but we are looking at a field of 60 teams at roll call. Rounds one and two will be today, three through six on Saturday, and then elimination rounds on Sunday.


Stay tuned for all details. 
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Electives from First Two Days IDAS 2010

IDAS 2010 is sponsored by ZIP Slovenia, the World Debate Institute at the University of Vermont, and the EU Europe for Citizens project.



People have asked me what all those electives (12 a day) from IDAS are. So, I thought I would post them from the first two days to give people ideas for training and also an idea of how we are training university students and teachers here.


ELECTIVES: IDAS 2010

SUNDAY

ELECTIVE 1 1500

Room: Jezerci
Principled argumentation - Boyle
Learn how to argue from a principled standpoint and make theoretical arguments more convincing.

Room: Spik
How to improve your Manner/Be an effective speaker - Loke
Tips on how you could improve your style as a speaker will be discussed.  You will take home some useful ways to help yourself and others to become more effective, stylistically, as a public speaker.

Room: Gobela
Persuasive Appeals - Wright
Social science as a weapon of mass consumption. This lecture will address some of the more socially scientific visions of contemporary persuasion. Including some of these devices in a debate works to demonstrate the shared space between debaters, judges, and audiences.

Room: Elevator 3
Debating Technologies, Internet and Media – Zheng Bo
Discussion of How technologies shaped our life and our social network.

Room: Rute
Yugoslavia: Once Upon a Time, There Was a Country… - Nenadovic & Avbar
History, politics, culture and religion of a country that once was and is no longer. The elective pays special attention to the breakup of the country in the 1990s, the issues that arose in the process, and the (post-conflict) democratization processes as well as EU accession prospects for the countries formerly known as ‘Yugoslavia’.

Room: Elevator 2
Strategic style – Ilsley
Learning the value of a stylistic range and how best to deploy it



SUNDAY

ELECTIVE 2 1600

Room: Jezerci
EU Integration and expansion - Boyle
An exploration of the EUs expansion to date, and a discussion of the countries currently under consideration for accession.

Room: Spik
Multiculturalism in Singapore/Asia - Loke
This is a Content Lecture on how Singapore and Asian countries pursue multiculturalism in its politics, laws, and social norms.  It will be useful for EU students to learn how people from Asian countries devise policies to accommodate the multiplicity of race, religion and language in their diverse populations.

Room: Rute
Yugoslavia – Part 2 – Nenadovic & Aybar
Contunies from part 1.

Room: Gobela
Narrative Reasoning – Wright
This elective discusses the persuasive form and function of narrative. Defining narrative reasoning and combining it with more traditional appeals to reason makes debaters more persuasive to various audiences.

Room: Elevator 3
Setting Cases for Gov and Opp – Zheng Bo
Discussions on how Opp avoid panicking and develop a coherent case to negate the Gov case in 7-min, and how Gov can well utilize their 15-min prep time to develop a case that is logically sound.

Room: Elevator 2
The lightning bug and the lightning –  Ilsley
Word choice and framing in winning debates



MONDAY ELECTIVES

ELECTIVE 1 1500

Room: Gobela
Ecological Philosophies - Snider
There are philosophical perspectives on the relationship between human beings and the ecology that can help you create coherent, consistent and compelling arguments in debates about ecological issues. They range from very human-centered to very bio-centered. These can also help you, as an individual, determine what your relationship with the ecology is and how it should operate in your life as well as in debate.

Room: Rute
EU democratisation promotion policies – chances of success - Valkering

Room: Spik
Economics for debating - Boyle
Learn how to debate some of the most pressing economic issues of the day

Room:  Jecerzi
How to find the "core issues" in a debate motion - Loke
This is an interactive session where the students will be guided to systematically discover the key ideas which should be given air time in a debate topic.  Students will go away with some key concepts/questions they should ask when discovering "core issues" in a debate motion.

Room:  Lobby 3
Speaker Roles and Team Strategies – Zheng Bo
Discussions about speaker roles and team strategies, with focus on the dynamic nature of BP debates.

Room: Lobby 2
Aristotelian rhetoric – Wright
The form and function of different rhetorical forms. Recognizing the particulars of a case and a motion, using the parameters set forth by rhetorical scholarship, debaters could prep more fluid and convincing arguments.

Room: AW 1
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? – Nenadovic
Analyzing the debate motion in order to get a clear problem definition. Many governments fail to specify what the problem is that they are addressing, and in doing so, they miss to outline the relevance of the motion. This is a highly practical elective, where we will together take apart different debate motions, review problems inherent in those motions, and devise relevant government and opposition strategies.

ELECTIVE 2 1600

Room: Spik
      Position & Treatment of the Roma in Europe - Nenadovic
Starting with the brief history of the Roma people in Europe, this electives covers the current biggest controversies relating to their position and treatment. This elective will discuss both the recent deportations from France and the rise of right-wing parties such as Jobbik in Hungary and the implications this has on the position of Roma, as well as the intended mechanisms of protection (such as the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, laws on protection of national minorities). 

Room: Lobby 3
Debating China – Zheng Bo
Information and discussions about China, such as Mainland/Taiwan relationships, Tibet, China as World Factory, etc.

Room: Rute
EU and Asylym – Valkering
Asylum policies in the EU and how they work.

Room: Lobby 2
Histories – Wright
How historiography and the epideictic shape us. Considering the international flavor of Worlds-style debate, learning and applying historical narrative in a debate could establish credibility to various argumentation claims.

Room: Jecerzi
How to find Extensions - Loke
This lecture focuses on what is a valid Extension for the Second Teams and how to find a good one, without being told by the judges that you are just "repackaging" the Upper House.  Students will take home strategies to discover a good Extension.

Room:  Gobela
Needs and Motivation – Morgan
From Maslow to Max-Neef: a look at the classic
hierarchy of needs contrasted with conflicting models of need
satisfaction



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Sunday, November 21, 2010

WDI Europe Program Begins


Debate - WUDC - Guaranteed Income - IDAS 2010 Exhibition from Alfred Snider on Vimeo.

With a total of 140 hearty souls on hand, the 8th International Debate Academy Slovenia has begun in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. The program is sponsored by Za in Proti Slovenia, the World Debate Institute at the University of Vermont, the law firm of Bickell and Brewer, and the EU Europe for Citizens Program.

The event will feature ten practice debates, fifteen lectures, fifteen debate exercise sessions, over thirty elective classes and a number of exciting social events. Participants have come from over 24 countries to this year's event.

The event kicked off with an exhibition debate on Saturday night on the motion, This House believes that all citizens should be entitled to a basic income without the requirement of work. The first proposition team was Anna England Kerr of Ljubljana University and Stephen Boyle of University College Dublin and the University of Vermont, the second proposition team was Jessica Bullock and John Sadek of the University of Vermont, the first opposition team was Gavin Ilsley and Rhydian Morgan of the UK's Stylus Communications, and the second opposition team was Filip Dobranic and Maja Cimerman of Ljubljana University (the reigning EUDC ESL champions).

The event is being held at the Hotel Spik, a beautiful mountain resort with breathtaking views of the Julian Alps as well as lovely work rooms, living rooms and delicious food.

The director is Bojana Skrt and the academic director is Alfred Snider. Faculty include Stephen Boyle, Gavin Ilsley, Rhydian Morgan along with Loke Wing Fatt of Singapore, Maja Nenadovic of the Netherlands, Jaime Wright of St. John's University in the USA, Zheng Boof Peking University in China, Anne Valkering of the Netherlands, TJ Senamengern of Assumption University in Thailand, Steve Llano of St. John's University in the USA. Peter Mesarec and Helena Felc of Slovenia are important parts of the program.

There is a group of some 20 trainers and teachers who are attending the additional trainers' workshop. They will learn the WUDC format, coaching and training skills, as well as judging. They will begin judging as the week goes on and will also judge at the tournament.

On Friday everyone will take buses to Ljubljana where a three day tournament will take place at the University of Ljubljana's faculty of administration. Other teams from around Europe will join those already at IDAS for a major central European tournament.

For more information, check out http://debate.uvm.edu/idas.html and http://internationaldebateacademy.blogspot.com/

We will have more information as the program advances.
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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Last Call for Intl Debate Academy Slovenia 2010

Alpine valley of Krnica near Kranjska Gora, Sl...Image via Wikipedia
This is a letter that Bojana Skrt sent to the 112 attendees of IDAS 2010. 
 
There is still room due to our new luxurious hotel with indoor pool.

It is top instruction in the WUDC format and there will be an excellent tournament at the end. 

The price is very reasonable. Room and food included.
Organized by Za in Proti (ZIP) and World Debate Institute, University of Vermont.

Contact Bojana Skrt at bojana.skrt@siol.net 

============================

Dear all, 
We are very glad you decided to participate at IDAS 2010  and we are all looking forward to host you in Slovenia. With your help IDAS 2010 will again be a great event.  It seems this year IDAS with more than  100  participants and trainers from  20  countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China,  Croatia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland,  Italy,  Kosovo, Macedonia, Netherlands, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Thailand, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela, will be the biggest ever.  Please, check IDAS web page and blog for the program  and all updates. 
Website: http://debate.uvm.edu/idas.html 
Blogsite: http://internationaldebateacademy.blogspot.com/ 

CHANGE OF LOCATION The very important news is that due to the bigger number of participants we moved IDAS from Ormož to Kranjska gora, which is  the other part of Slovenia. Kranjska gora is 80 km north from Ljubljana, in Julian Alps, very close to Austrian and Italian border.  The venue is Hotel Špik in a small village 3 km before Kranjska gora, called Gozd Martuljek. The hotel is much better than the Hotel Ormož, it has an indoor pool and very nice working rooms.  So, do not forget to bring swimming clothes with you.  The rooms are 4-beds, 3- beds and limited number of 2-beds. 
 
Here is the web address if you want to check the hotel, Kranjska gora and Gozd Martuljek:  
www.kranjska-gora.si/home 
www.gradtur.si/zima/slovenija/gozd_martuljek/hotel_Spik.html 
www.slovenia.info 

Because we did move to Hotel Špik, we can still accept applications – so, please, share the information about IDAS with everybody who might be interested. 
 
EU PROJECT Participants from: Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Italy, Macedonia and Slovenia participate at IDAS 2010 as part of project entitled “»DEBATE ANSWERING THE CHALLENGES OF IMMIGRATION AND MUTLICULTURALISM«  supported by European Union’s  Europe for citizens program.  There will be a few additional events organized during IDAS because of this project. Consequently, there will be also lecture topics and some debate topics connected with immigration and multiculturalism issues, role of EU in the world and similar.   And of course there will be lots of EU logos all around the venues. 
SCHOLARSHIPS  FUND Special thanks go to Bickell&Brewer foundation,  which gave us 2000 EUR for scholarships, which was divided among 21 participants asking for scholarships. I am sorry for not being able to award all the participants seeking scholarships, due to the limited  resources we have. I do hope you will be able to come anyway and would be able to get missing funds for some other donor. 

More: 
1. In case you can not come, please, inform me immediately – we need to know how many people are coming. . 

2. Schedule 
We start on  Saturday, the 20th t – registration starts at 16.00, the programme starts at 20.00. We finish on Sunday, the  28th around 14.00.  
        
2. IDAS 2010 tournament venues 
In Ljubljana  we will be staying in high school dormitory Dijaški dom  Bežigrad, the adress. Kardeljeva ploščad 28, www.ddb.si, There are  mainly   three bed rooms. The dorm is 3 minutes walk from the tournament venue.   The ones who are coming for tournament only – you can check in after 14.00 on Friday. 
If you need an extra night in Ljubljana on Thursday or Sunday you need to make your own reservation. VERY IMPORTANT – YOU CAN NOT BE IN DIJAŠKI DOM BEŽIGRAD  FOR EXTRA NIGHTS. You need to make reservations in some other hotels  - there are plenty of low costs options in Ljubljana which can be booked via Internet. 

The tournament will be held at Faculty of administration, University of Ljubljana, www.fu.uni-lju.si 

3. Registration fee  
The registration fee 250 EUR covers the whole Academy  -  from dinner on the 20th  to breakfast on Sunday, the 28th.  
 
Tournament only 
The registration fee for the ones who are coming only for the tournament  is 60 EUR, it covers the accommodation and food from dinner  on the 26th till breakfast on the 28th. You should plan your departure from Ljubljana in the afternoon. 
The participation fee doesn't cover any extra nights. All the extra nights should be paid by you directly to the hotel. If you need an extra night in Hotel Špik in Gozd Martuljek, please, inform me about it and I will make the reservation. 
Registration fee  should be paid  in cash at registration. In case somebody prefers to pay via bank transfer, please, let me know and I will send you our bank account info. 
Everybody from  Hotel Špik, Gozd  Martuljek  will leave together  by rented  bus from Hotel Špik  to  Ljubljana, no extra fee for this travel. 

6.Travelling to Gozd Martuljek
There are buses for Kranjska gora from Ljubljana.  You should go to Gozd Martuljek, Hotel Špik ask the driver to stop at the Hotel Špik. The other option is taking a train from Ljubljana to Jesenice and than in Jesenice taking a bus to Gozd Martuljek. If you are coming from Austria, you go from Villach to Jesenice, train or bus.  
Here is the Ljubljana – Kranjska gora bus schedule: 06:30 a m , 07:30 a m, 09:30 a m, 10:30 a m. 12:30 p m  13:30 p m 14:30 p m 16:30 p m, it costs 8,75 EUR, it takes 2 hours. 
Here is the Ljubljana – Jesenice train schedule: Ljubljana 06:50, Ljubljana 07:27,  Ljubljana 09:27, Ljubljana 09:45 Ljubljana 11.26,  Ljubljana 12:50 Ljubljana 14:41, Ljubljana 15:25,  Ljubljana 15:33, Ljubljana 16:55, Ljubljana 17:50,  Ljubljana 18:55,  Ljubljana 20:48m, Ljubljana 23:50, it costs 6,75 EUR, it takes 1,20 minutes. Jesenice are 25 km away from Gozd Martuljek. 
The last bus from Jesenice to Kranjska gora goes at 17.57, than taxi is an option. 
If you want to book a special transport, especially from the airport, but can be done from Ljubljana train/bus station as well, you can send an email to borut.markun@siol.net – they do have vans and cars and doing pick us services. The same is true if you want to come from the airport to Ljubljana or vice versa. 

7. Visas 
In case you need visa for entering Slovenia and I didn't send you the visa invitation letter yes, please, contact me immediately – we do not have lots of time left. 

8. COUNTRY EXHIBITION 
It is the habit that we organize a country  fair.  This means you need to bring some items – food, drink, things, posters, music …. which present your country the most.  More  information about this and other social events will be given by our social directors Helena Felc and Gregor Janžek. 
 
9. SMOKING 
Slovenia has very strict smoking law – you are not allowed to smoke at any public places, no restaurants, no hotel room – meaning you can only smoke outside. 
 
10. WEATHER 
We are going to be in Alps, meaning can be cold, not necessarily, but can be bellow zero Celzius, can be snowy. But, it might be also still warm. Have this  in mind when packing.  
 
11. WIRELESS 
I was told it is available at least in some parts of hotel. 

12. EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBER
Bojana  + 386 41423377
 
That’s it for now. If you have any additional questions, please, feel free to ask. Really looking forward meeting you all in Slovenia, Bojana 


--
Bojana Skrt 
direktorica 
Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga 
Svetosavska 24, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija 
www.zainproti.com 
+386 (0)41 423377
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Sunday, October 24, 2010

WDI Sponsored Conference in Europe Concludes

The Third International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment, Thinking and Speaking a Better World, concluded in Maribor, Slovenia on Sunday 24 October 2010. The conference featured scholars, experts and enthusiasts from nineteen countries.
During the sessions there were over 50 papers presented  on a variety of topics. There were two keynote speeches, one by Debbie Newman (former president of the Cambridge Union, England and Wales debate champion, former head of the English Speaking Union's Centre for Speech and Debate, and world champion schools coach for England) from the UK on "The Noisy Classroom" and one from Sam Greenland (Sydney University, WUDC semifinalist, current World Debating Council President) on "Measuring Debate's Impact on Classroom Performance."
Eighty attendees spent three days sharing ideas, scholarship and fellowship while networking on future projects. A major panel discussion on "Cultural Variation - Debate and Argument" had participants from Yemen, Morocco, Hungary, Venezuela, Japan, UK and USA. There was a lavish banquet on Saturday night and productive discussions during the twenty panel sessions that were held.
Papers from this conference as well as the 2006 and 2008 events will be published in a volume entitled Thinking and Speaking a Better World edited by Alfred Snider of the University of Vermont and David Cratis Williams of Florida Atlantic University due out at the end of 2011. 
Videos of many of the presentations, both keynotes, and the panel discussion on culture will be available in coming weeks at the conference websites. 
There will be an announcement soon about the fourth and next conference.
Further details can be found at the conference websites:
The conference was organized by the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor in Slovenia http://www.uni-mb.si/ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, institute for culture of dialogue http://www.zainproti.com/ ,  and the World Debate Institute of the University of Vermont http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/Welcome.html .

The organizers are grateful for the support of our sponsor QatarDebate http://www.qatardebate.org/ .

Thanks to organizers Boris Vezjak, Alfred Snider and Bojana Skrt. Special thanks to Peter Mesarec, Monica Sobocan and Aljoša Polšak.
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