The project

There are a few thoughts that the partners of this project share: the discourses we hear in the public place leaves traces in society: if intelligent, coherent and right minded, they can inspire and transform people; if intolerant and mis informed, they can perpetuate ignorance and even violence. That is why Closer2Oxford meets Diwanieh wants to create a community of young people in Romania and Jordan who practice critical thinking and engage in knowledge-based debates on issues that matter for them. This project offers a platform where young  debaters use debate to discuss pressing topics among themselves, with their local leaders and with the general public as audience, both online and offline. 

These are the project activities, from February to May 2014:

1. Local trainings in Jordan and Romania, February 2014

Course length: 4-6 days: Feb 28th - March 2nd and March 7th - 9th. 

Number of participants: 20 Romanian students and 20 Jordanian students

The main objective of the trainings:

* To train participants to formulate arguments and counter-arguments, and to build a debate case;

* To practice research on a topic of general interest;

* To practice working in teams;

* To develop the participants’ critical thinking and debating skills.

These 20 RO students and 20 JD students will participate in the next phase of the project:

2. Online debates on www.closer2oxford.ro, March 2014

The 20 Romanian participants and 20 Jordanian participants will engage online, in English, in written debate on a topic of interest for both groups.

Please read the format and specificities for the online debate.

Based on the performance in the online debate, the involvement in the trainings and the initial application, 8 students from each country will be selected to participate in the 3rd stage - a student exchange in Jordan.

3. Student exchange in Jordan, Amman. May 2014

The 5 day student exchange will give the selected Romanian and Jordanian participants the opportunity to hone their debating skills, learn about each others’ countries and cultures, further their educational and personal experience engaging with intelligent and interesting students from Amman and Jordan.

Please note that the Romanian participants who are chosen to travel to Jordan are expected to contribute 30% of their travel costs (120-150 Eur). The rest of the program costs, accommodation and meals are fully covered for all participants (Romanian and Jordan) chosen to participate in the last phase. The total cost of the experience is approx. 1000 Eur/person.

4. Participation at Diwanieh

Diwanieh is taking political debate from the closed circles of decision makers and analysts to the street, where people from different backgrounds come to discuss issues that affect their lives, together with various public figures. You can see pictures of previous Diwanieh editions here.

Best Romanian debaters and best Jordanian debaters who have proven themselves during the exchange will be selected to participate in Diwanieh, during the exchange in Amman. This way they will showcase their skills and take part in a unique public debate that truly engages debaters and citizens in Amman in an open discussion on a stringent topic.