Youth Leadership
The debate club emptied when the fees came in
Kajsa Høyland Bok Stabel and Xenia Alexandra Luchian are organising a three day debate competition in Armenia, open to anyone, after cost shut their own school out of the world championship.
They joined the debate club together at United World College Dilijan, both of them having loved debating at home. Then came the news that the school would no longer be taking part in the world schools debate championship, because of what it cost. "Suddenly, nobody wanted to join the debate club anymore," Kajsa says. At the end of that term she was made leader of the club.
Kajsa is from Norway and Xenia is from Moldova. Both live in Armenia now. One conversation there stayed with them. Their taxi driver mentioned that he worked in a bank. They wondered why. The reason, she says, is economic: "most Armenians have to have multiple jobs to support themselves and their families."
“When we talk about sharing with people, it is often about clothes, food, or water; however, knowledge and opportunity are just as valuable for those who don't have them”
Kajsa Høyland Bok Stabel and Xenia Alexandra Luchian
When they decided to run their own tournament, one question would not go away. What should it cost to enter? Another organisation’s event, one their school hosts, charged 20,000 dram, about 55 dollars, and participants paid their own travel and housing on top. "For a family relying on multiple incomes per person, this price is not comfortable," Kajsa says. They tried less food, sponsors and cheaper housing, no gala dinner. It still came out high.
CSDC, the Caucasus Schools Debate Tournament, will run three days in October, open to anyone regardless of experience. Promotion is focused on Armenia and Georgia, where they say no open competition like it exists. Digital workshops come first. Day one adds workshops in person. Debaters who have competed internationally teach them, with beginners and advanced in separate groups. Days two and three are for the rounds. The semis and final come last. A logistics team balances the teams by experience.
Prizes will go to the winners. There will also be prizes for teamwork, for improvements, for stand out performances. The awards will be official, so delegates can carry them into future programs.
About 30 people from their school are working on it now. Schools across Armenia and Georgia have been contacted. The pair want a section on the website for people who want to start a debate team of their own. What they are after, Kajsa says, is to "bring opportunity and possibility to the youth of Armenia through a tool which we both relished in from our own community."