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International Debate Education Action (IDEA)

IDEA is an independent membership organization with the aim of promoting debate as a method of teaching democracy, tolerance and the values of civic society. With member organizations mainly but not exclusively from countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, IDEA has up until today trained 12 000 teachers as well as organized debate clubs in and outside of schools and universities, especially encouraging the involvement of minorities. Functioning as a network of national debate organizations and associations, IDEA promotes the cooperation between national programs, organizes European-wide conferences and activities, and provides its members with relevant publications in their native languages, training manuals and videos. A searchable database "Debatabase” (accessible for non-members as well) serves as a reference resources for possible debate topics.