Within the project ‘Debate Youth Line’ the Agency for Private Initiative Development and the transborder project team have set up an International Carpathian Debate Association: project partners signed the respective memorandum on May 31, 2016.  

The project developed a Strategy for the newly established association determining the basic principles of debate movement in three Carpathian regions - Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county of Hungary, and Maramures county of Romania.

The debate movement is widespread across the world, but it is of a systemic nature and has got the necessary regulation only in Western Europe and in the USA. Thus, the memorandum of cooperation has launched the activities of the first joint international debate association in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, which unifies and will continue to unify young leaders for intellectual discussions. The network has become the platform for mastering the debate toolkit by non-indifferent young people both for self-fulfillment purposes, and for generating creative ideas aimed at sustainable development of their communities. 

Now the Association unites 31 debate clubs (350 university and school students) spreading the culture of tolerant discussion in their communities. Young people from three countries communicating in different languages, brought up on different national traditions, have become friends and discuss the ideas of joint cross border projects. The association is open for new members – debate clubs from different countries.

The leading topics of the debates actively discussed within the Association include local economic development, balance between the environment and economy in local communities, interrelation of the European law and national regulations, challenges facing novice businessmen and startups, advantages and risks of starting one’s own business, etc. This is not accidental, since for university and school students the choice of occupation, field of activities, forms of self-fulfillment and career growth paths are extremely important.  

The project ‘Debate Youth Line’ was co-financed by the European Community within the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Hungary -Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine 2007-2013. It was implemented from March 2014 till February 2015 by the Agency for Private Initiative Development in partnership with the Department of Education and Science, Youth and Sports of Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration, the Association of Local Development Ivan Krevan (Romania) and the Association ‘Kalamaris’ (Hungary). The project goal was to encourage the cooperation between young people under the youth debate movement in the border regions of Ukraine (Ivano-Frankivsk region), Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county (Hungary) and Maramures county (Romania).