CALL FOR HIGH SCHOOL ESSAYS

Balkan Debate Academy: Debating towards Cooperation

The project Balkan Debate Academy: Debating towards Cooperation is opening a call for essays for high school students from Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo*. The best essays which will be selected will receive a full scholarship for participation at the Balkan Debate Academy in Skopje. The project is implemented by Youth Educational Forum in cooperation with Open Communication from Serbia, Centre of Cultivating Dialogue from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Debate Centre from Kosovo, with the support of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO).

Students who apply for the call can choose one of two topics for essays:

1. Does our past define our future?
2. Progress starts with dialogue.

The call for essays is open until October 14, 2018, whereas interested high school students should send their essays electronically to debateacademy@mof.org.mk marked as “Application for Balkan Debate Academy”.

Conditions for participation:

• The call is open for high school students aged 14-18 from Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo;
• Essays should be written in English, with a length of at least 800, and a maximum of 1200 words, written in font Times New Roman 12;
• The application for participation should include an essay written in Microsoft Office Word attached to the e-mail, along with name, surname, place of residence, e-mail address, contact phone and photograph of the author (that will be published together with the essay).

After closing the call, a three-member committee will select the best 9 essays from each Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. The winners of the competition will receive a full scholarship for participation at the international academy Balkan Debate Academy: Debating towards Cooperation. The Academy, which will be held from October 30th to November 4th in Skopje, will enable high school students to take part in an advanced debate course and to gain theoretical and practical skills in the field of argumentation, critical thinking and public speaking.

The advanced debate lectures will include trainings in the field of competitive debate, public speaking and argumentative expression held by international and national debate trainers, wrapping up with an international debating tournament where participants will have the opportunity to apply the newly acquired skills.

The participants at the Academy will be certified for successful training on debate and public speaking.

For more information about this call for essays, you can write to debateacademy@mof.org.mk or call at: 02 3139 692.