MOSAIC - The training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work

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to the rest of the group once the debate starts. You should also make sure that
the centrist and the opposition amendments are indeed representing different
positions.
You may want to invite someone in the group to act as Chair for the debate and
someone else to be timekeeper. In this case, make sure that the Chair understands
that his/her task is to remain outside the debate and simply to keep order
while the speeches are going on. S/he needs to call the speakers in turn, according
to the order they were given in the instructions, and make sure that speakers do
not exceed their time limit.
The Chair should also remind participants that they must take at least one step
after every speech. This will give an indication of how people are responding
to the different positions.
After the official speeches, and if you have additional time available, you could
open the floor to other speakers. Allow them no more than one minute to put
their point of view.
At the end of the debate, emphasise that people need to make a decision in favour of one
of the three positions – either for the government motion or for one of the amendments
proposed by the opposition parties.
Variations
You could allow participants to choose which group they want to join after they have
heard the motion. They could also be given the chance to choose the topic for debate,
though this will add a little to the time required. Read out all five possibilities for the
motion (and others of your own, if you wish), then ask them to select the one they
would most like to debate. You may need to point out that the debate will be most
interesting if there is a good range of opinions on the selected issue.
The topics can also be debated using different methods of discussion, for example,
methods used in the Compass activities “Where do you stand?”, “Electioneering” or
“Let’s talk about sex”.
Ideas for action
Encourage participants to look at their country’s national budget and try to identify
the relative amounts allocated for:
Military spending
Education (or young people, if there is a separate budget for this)
Social security (including homelessness, if this is identifiable separately)
Homeland security (police and law-enforcement agencies)
Then discuss and compare the results:
Does the relative weight for each of these items differ significantly from one
country to another?
Do rates of taxation differ significantly?
How would they allocate spending if they were members of the government?
MOSAIC - The training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work