WDI Session Begins in Serbia

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In the cool mountains of southern Serbia, in a tiny town call Brzece, the 2nd annual Serbian Debate Academy has begun. The instruction is in English and Serbian, for university students, and the debate format used is WUDC. The program is sponsored by Open Communication Serbia, the World Debate Institute of the University of Vermont, the US Department of State and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The first night featured a welcome and then a demonstration debate on the motion, This House belieces that governments should hide evidence of contact with extraterrestrials. The debate featured famous Irish debater Stephen Boyle and Slovenian debater Anna Kerr as first prop, Serbian stars Milan Vignevic and Marko Cirovic (cleared at ESL WUDC and ESL EUDC) as first opp, WDI director Alfred Snider along with Manos Moschopoulos (top ESL debater in the world at last WUDC) as second prop, and reigning WUDC ESL champions Maja Cimerman and Filip Dobranic as second opp.

The first three full days will have two lectures, an exercise period, elective classes (students pick from five offered each day) and two critiqued practice debates each day. The event takes place in a lovely mountain valley in three small ski lodges with some debates and other events taking place by babbling springs and lovely trees. The program is divided into beginner and advanced tracks in English, a judge training track and a Serbian language debate track.

The program will end with a six round tournament, semifinals and finals. Evenings are full of frivolity and good times as is traditional at Serbian debate camps.

Watch for videos of lectures and debates along with the tournament results.

Attendees are from Serbia, Slovenia, Greece, Germany, Austria and the USA.