ARDOR Romania

ARDOR’s mission is to encourage informal education by means of debate, promoting argumentative dialogue and critical thinking. It was founded in 1998 as a follow-up of the institution of the Soros Foundation Educational Debate Programme and has a decentralised structure, comprising six regional NGOs as members. Academic debate involves teams with an equal number of members, invited to advance and refute arguments for and against a motion on which individuals can have different opinions. It represents a complex educational exercise which enhances argumentation and persuasion skills, the practice of thorough research and the ability to identify and use credible sources of information, but also active listening skills. Critical thinking, team-work abilities, creativity, humour, tolerance and fair-play are also important advantages gained by debaters, which can be turned into good value in their personal and professional development. In Romania, there are approximately 50 debate clubs. These clubs function as extra-curricular educational activities, under the approval of the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports. ARDOR is a member of the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) and in 2011 has participated for the 17th time to the National Forum for pupils and students.