FLAGSHIP PROGRAMMES
National Network
Luxembourg
Address
64 rue Dicks, L-4082 Esch-sur-Alzette, Grand-Duché de LuxembourgCountry
City
Esch-sur-AlzetteProvince
Grand-Duché de LuxembourgMobile Phone
+447346648022Telephone
+447346648022Telephone (other)
+447346648022Website
Click HereYear of Establishment
2026Contact Person1
claudia harperJob Title 1
presidentContact Person 2
raiyan zoaherJob Title 2
secretaryOrganisation Type
Public/Private Non-Profit FoundationFields of Activity
Youth and educationGeneral Information
The Luxembourg National Debate Federation (LNDF) is Luxembourg's national body for competitive academic debate. Established in 2025, LNDF selects, trains, and fields a national team of secondary school students to represent Luxembourg at international competitions, most notably the World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC), the most prestigious secondary school debate competition in the world, operating since 1988 across 70+ nations. LNDF is committed to making world-class debate accessible to all motivated students in Luxembourg regardless of financial background, through an active bursary and equity policy.
Mission and Objectives
LNDF's mission is to build a lasting culture of critical thinking, civic engagement, and intercultural understanding among young people in Luxembourg through competitive academic debate. We aim to establish Luxembourg as a permanent and competitive presence in the international debate community, participating annually at the World Schools Debating Championship and other elite international tournaments. Beyond competition, our objectives include developing a national pipeline of debaters from secondary school through to university level; training and certifying a generation of Luxembourg-based coaches; ensuring that socioeconomic background never determines access to the programme through a robust bursary and equity policy; and embedding debate as a recognised extracurricular pathway within Luxembourg's broader educational landscape. Long-term, LNDF seeks to become the anchor institution for academic debate in Luxembourg: hosting national competitions, partnering with schools and universities, and contributing to public discourse and democratic participation among young Luxembourgers.
Main Projects / Activities
LNDF runs a year-round national debate programme encompassing student recruitment, structured training with university-level coaches, and participation in international tournament circuits including Harvard, UPenn, Columbia, Oxford BP, and Cambridge BP invitationals. Our national team selection process is open to all secondary school students in Luxembourg through transparent, merit-based tryouts. Centrally, LNDF is building Luxembourg's sustained presence at the World Schools Debating Championship beginning with our inaugural appearance at WSDC 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, and continuing annually thereafter. We also actively develop institutional relationships with Luxembourg's Ministry of Education, civil society organisations, and international debate bodies to build the infrastructure needed for debate to thrive long-term in Luxembourg. Future projects include the establishment of a national schools debate league, coach certification programmes, and an annual Luxembourg Debate Open tournament welcoming international teams to the Grand Duchy.
How can you contribute to the Network in your country?
LNDF can serve as a bridge between Luxembourg's youth and the broader Euro-Mediterranean dialogue community. Through our debate programme, we already engage young people on exactly the topics ALF champions: democracy, human rights, intercultural understanding, and civic responsibility. We can share best practices in youth-led intercultural dialogue, connect Luxembourg students with ALF's wider network of young people across the Mediterranean, and represent Luxembourg's commitment to multilateral engagement and democratic values at international forums.
Why do you want to join the ALF Network?
Debate is intercultural dialogue in its most structured and rigorous form. At WSDC, students from over 70 nations come together to argue, listen, and engage with perspectives radically different from their own on motions touching human rights, justice, equality and global politics. LNDF wants to join the ALF Network because our work is aligned with ALF's core mission: building bridges between cultures through meaningful, youth-led exchange. We believe that Luxembourg's voice belong in this conversation, and that ALF membership will open doors to collaboration, visibility, and shared impact across the Euro-Mediterranean region.