After many years of experience during the debates promoted first in high schools and then also in universities through the Exponi le tue idee! project, whose aim is to make schools and territories protagonists of the national debate on current issues as a participatory exercise of democracy and citizenship, WeWorld has decided to extend the project by promoting an activity for younger students.

Because it is never too early to approach issues such as the climate crisis and the role each of us plays in combating climate change, I debate for My Future is presented as a pilot experience determined to engage primary and secondary schools in a series of debates focused on environmental issues. Teams will compete two-by-two in a debate - faction for and faction against - first within their respective schools and then in a territorial playoff in which the winning team of the contest will be decided.

Debate is an alternative teaching method, originated in the Anglo-Saxon world and now recognized by MIUR for its effectiveness, which has not only didactic objectives, such as knowing how to select sources, study specific topics or know how to argue in a logical and coherent manner, but also educational objectives, such as accepting and respecting the views of others and gaining the tools necessary to take an active role in society.

However, the experience will not only be useful for the young people but will also be a way for the teaching staff to learn more about important issues, concerning the subject of Civic Education instituted from the year 2020/21 in all cycles of education, as well as to learn the debate rules so that they can propose this method again on their own.

The project includes the following activities:

  • Pilot Phase at Istituto Comprensivo "Don Milani" - Locate Triulzi. The pilot phase will be launched at Istituto Comprensivo "Don Milani" in Locate Triulzi to test and validate the school debate model on primary and middle school. The pilot phase also includes training for teachers and leading 5 classes to the implementation of the school debate in their classrooms.
  • Training courses for teachers. After the launch of the pilot phase, an additional 3 schools will be involved in the project, whose teachers will have the opportunity to participate in training and in-depth courses on the debate methodology and the topics of the Agenda 2030 and the Climate Crisis.
  • Intra-school Debate. The contest will start at each individual school. The competition will take the format of a debate confrontation in which two teams will compete by arguing and supporting the position for or against a given topic. In the debate stages, teachers will also guide their students with the support of a mentor.
  • Territorial Stage. In the territorial phase the best teams from each of the 4 schools will confront each other; at the end of the challenge, the winning team of the contest will be chosen. This team will win a prize to benefit their school to choose from: an educational visit with an environmental theme, a school sustainability intervention or another environmental initiative proposed by the students themselves. At this stage, key players from the 4 different territories will be invited to participate as judges (headmasters, teachers, representatives of Local Authorities, Parent Associations, etc.) and a representative of Fondazione Cariplo for the jury and the award ceremony.
  • Debate Day - final event. The winning team will also have the opportunity to take part as a guest at the Debate Day, which is the final national high school debate event in Milan.