H.S. students worldwide to debate debates

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NORWOOD, Mass., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- An online effort is under way to encourage high schools around the world to delve into the U.S. presidential debates, the project's coordinator said Monday.

This election season, in cooperation with the Commission on Presidential Debates, Explo will run "Join the Debates" an initiative to encourage thoughtful discussion about political and civic issues, Explo said in a release.

"Join the Debates" will bring together high school students from across the United States and around the world in discussions mainly facilitated by trained students from the University of Denver, Center College, Hofstra University and Lynn University, sites for the 2012 U.S. presidential and vice presidential debates, Explo said.

"Many are concerned about the poor state of public discourse around political and civic matters," said Moira Kelly, Explo's executive director. "The goal is to directly engage young people in meaningful conversation and demonstrate that reasonable people can disagree and that there's a civil way to make that happen."

The students will meet online for about an hour to discuss the debates after the faceoffs take place.

The Norwood, Mass.-based Explo was established in 1977. Its mission is to inspire students to discover the world of people and ideas, respect differences of individualism and find common ground.