Youth Prepare for National Debate Tournament

In preparation for the nationwide debate tournament to be held in Uganda in December 2009, the Youth Debate League, (an initiative of OSI's Youth Initiative and the International Debate Education Association) conducted a skill-building workshop for students and teachers from selected high schools in Uganda.

The workshop trained 20 teachers and 5 students to organize, facilitate, and coach students in their school debates. The students will participate in the national debate tournament in December 2009. The debate program is a pilot project that aims at building and strengthening formal debate in high schools and colleges in Uganda. It seeks to foster unique debating skills among Ugandan youth, promote analytical and critical thinking, and acquire leadership skills to effectively address problems in their communities.

Meanwhile, in June 2009, OSIEA/Youth Initiative's Youth Action Fund (YAF) announced its second set of youth leadership grants in Uganda. Orientation training for the new grantees and an experience sharing /mid term review workshop of the current 17 YAF grantees took place from September 17 to 19, 2009, in Kampala.