Aug 17, 2006

The People Speak 2006

Dear All,

I am pleased to inform you that International Debate Education Association (IDEA: www.idebate.org) will be continuing its participation in The People Speak (TPS) initiative in 2006. IDEA has been awarded a generous grant from the Better World Fund to assist it in promoting The People Speak both in the United States and
internationally.

The goal of The People Speak initiative is to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in thoughtful discussions about the value of international cooperation for the United States and the world. Similarly to previous years when TPS events were held across the world, organizations are encouraged to organize community debates, discussions, roundtables, meetings and media programs focusing on the following themes: Peace, Security & Human Rights; Energy & Global Climate Change; and the Millennium Development Goals.

IDEA will distribute small grants for organization of each TPS event- up to 250 USD for the events to be organized between 1st September and 30th November 2006. As a general rule, IDEA TPS program will award no more then 2 grants to each applicant. However if applicants would like to organize bigger TPS projects, they are welcome to submit individual proposals that will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Applicants may also choose to organize events in exchange of "IDEA Guilder points"- which will be redeemable towards the purchase of IDEA goods and services. The number of Guilders awarded to each member will depend on the nature of the contribution that an applicant makes to TPS' 2006 program.

More information on the People Speak Events is available at www.idebate.org/thepeoplespeak/ - in the column on the right side of the page you will be able to access the TPS Toolkit and explanation of IDEA Guilder system.

Please, also do not hesitate to contact me (mzaleski@idebate.org) if you should have any questions or require assistance with organization of your TPS events.

With best regards,
Marcin Zaleski
mzaleski@idebate.org

[sursa romanian_roma]