AGORA Debate Association

Name

AGORA Debate Association

Legal name

Asociația AGORA DEBATE

Website

https://agoradebate.ro

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Debate and Civic Education Services

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAMAGAA

Debate (Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, Parliamentary, Public Forum)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Academic Clubs & Competitions (Debate, Model UN, Olympiads)

SECONDARYEDAMAOAB

After-School Public Speaking & Debate Clubs

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Public Speaking & Debate Clubs

SECONDARYEDAMAOAE

Debate Tournament & League Organizers

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Public Speaking & Debate Clubs

SECONDARYEDAMAOAA

In-School Debate Teams & Speech Programs

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Public Speaking & Debate Clubs

SECONDARYEDAMAOAF

Speech & Debate Competition Preparation (Events, Extemp, Impromptu)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Public Speaking & Debate Clubs

Keywords

• Academic debate education
• Youth argumentation training
• Civic education programs
• Nonprofit educational association
• Intercollegiate debate competitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Oradea

HQ country

Romania

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: AGORA Debate accepts individual donations (one-time or recurring monthly), corporate sponsorships, and benefits from income tax redirection schemes (3.5% for individuals, 20% for companies). Donations support specific competitions, administrative costs, and project implementation. The association is registered for tax-deductible donations.
2. Corporate Training Services: Professional trainers from the association offer custom training programs to private companies focused on communication, negotiation, and argumentation skills. Services include corporate debate events and team-building formats. Revenue from these services supports the association's educational programs.
3. Event Participation Fees: Participation fees are charged for certain tournaments and events to cover costs such as accommodation, food, and materials. The association notes that without these fees, costs per participant would be prohibitive. All core educational activities remain free for beneficiaries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

AGORA Debate Association operates an educational debate program for high school and university students in Romania through a network of 25+ affiliated debate clubs. Core services include weekly club meetings, national and regional tournaments (Cluj Open, Transylvania New Generation Cup), an online e-learning platform, and free public debate events. The association also delivers fee-based corporate training in communication, negotiation, and argumentation to private companies. All core educational activities are free for students; revenue is generated through corporate training contracts, tournament participation fees, donations, sponsorships, and grants.

Product overview

AGORA Debate is an umbrella association managing an extensive educational program for high school and university students centered on academic debates as a tool for developing critical thinking, argumentation, and public speaking skills. The portfolio consists of debate clubs for high school students (including Cluj Debate Club and CADEP), university debate societies (BBU Debate Society and Oradea Debate Society), an e-learning platform for online courses, public debate events featuring Romanian public figures, corporate training services, and organized debate competitions (Cluj Open, Openul Facultății de Drept). The organization also provides educational resources including World Schools and British Parliamentary debate formats and topic banks. The organization operates as a unified educational platform with no separate product modules or add-ons.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Debate Clubs for High School Students (Cluburi de Dezbateri) Network of 25+ debate clubs operating within schools and educational institutions across Romania, serving over 500 high school students annually through weekly meetings focused on argumentation and debate skills.
• Cluj Debate Club The largest debate club in Transylvania, with over 100 student beneficiaries from 9 partner high schools in Cluj-Napoca, participating in major national tournaments.
• CADEP (Clubul de Dezbateri Academice al Elevilor) Academic debate club for students from Colegiul Național Pedagogic Mihai Eminescu in Târgu Mureș, the most active debate club in Mureș county.
• BBU Debate Society University debate club under Babeș-Bolyai University, open to all students in Cluj, organizing weekly meetings using the British Parliamentary format and participating in national and international tournaments.
• Oradea Debate Society First academic debate club dedicated to students in Oradea, focusing on developing critical thinking, argumentation skills, and public speaking through British Parliamentary format debates.
• E-Learning Platform (Online Courses) Online courses platform for critical thinking and argumentation accessible to students, teachers, and professors, launched during the pandemic to diversify educational methods.
• Public Debates (Dezbateri Publice) Public debate events featuring Romanian public figures discussing current topics in Romanian society, organized regularly in Cluj and other locations, open to the general public.
• Corporate Training and Debates Professional training programs for private companies focused on improving verbal communication, negotiation, and argumentation skills, adapted to each company's business needs, plus corporate debate events for team-building.
• Debate Competitions Local, national, and international debate competitions including Cluj Open (high school) and Openul Facultății de Drept (university), using World Schools and British Parliamentary formats.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, general and project.

• Asociația Română de Dezbateri, Oratorie și Retorică (ARDOR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2019AGORA Debate is one of six regional associations that are members of ARDOR, the national governing body for debate, rhetoric, and oratory in Romania. All activities for high school students are conducted under the ARDOR umbrella, including participation in the national competition calendar, adherence to the ARDOR ethical code, and access to ARDOR training materials and events.
• Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai (BBU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2002Babeș-Bolyai University is the educational partner of AGORA Debate, continuing support for its student debate program initiated over 18 years ago under the BBU Debate Society banner. BBU hosts the club's weekly meetings at the Faculty of Law and supports participation in national and international tournaments.
• Inspectoratul Școlar Județean Cluj (ISJ)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral partner providing institutional support and collaboration with the regional school inspectorate for the implementation of debate programs in Cluj County schools.
• Facultatea de Drept Cluj-NapocamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral partner — the Faculty of Law at Babeș-Bolyai University hosts BBU Debate Society meetings and the Openul Facultății de Drept competition, Romania's most important student debate tournament.
• Daisler Print HousegeneralStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral partner providing printing and graphic design support for AGORA Debate events, competitions, and promotional materials.
• ReadyTech ConsultinggeneralStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral partner providing consulting and technology-related support for the association's operations and digital initiatives.
• Fundația Comunitară Oradea (FCO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral partner and community foundation based in Oradea, supporting youth initiatives in Bihor County. Since August 2021, FCO partners with AGORA Debate through Oradea Debate Society for public debates and community programs.
• Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman political foundation supporting the Transylvania New Generation Cup 2022 tournament. KAS provides funding and strategic support for debate and civic education initiatives in Romania.
• Accenture Industrial Software SolutionsprojectStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner supporting specific debate events and public debates organized by AGORA Debate. Accenture has co-sponsored public debate events on topics including robotics, AI, and gender equality in STEM.
• Europe Direct OradeaprojectStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner working with AGORA Debate and Oradea Debate Society to organize regional academic debates on topics such as digitalization of education, climate policy, and youth civic engagement.
• Primăria și Consiliul Local Cluj-NapocaprojectStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner providing support for debate events and competitions hosted in Cluj-Napoca, including venue access and logistical assistance for the Transylvania New Generation Cup.
• Centrul de Cultură Urbană Cluj-NapocaprojectStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner providing venue support (Casino Parcul Central, Cinema Mărăști) for public debates and debate events in Cluj-Napoca.
• Starea Națiunii StudențeștiprojectStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership of 34 youth associations in Romania, including AGORA Debate. Organizes public debates on topics of national interest (e.g., ChatGPT in education, drug policy) at venues including the National Library of Romania.
• GEYC (Group of the European Youth for Change)projectStrategic or Co-development PartnerRomanian youth organization and Erasmus+ KA2 partner in the Civic Debate Club project, which aims to develop an international methodology for establishing and coordinating youth debate clubs on democracy and governance topics.
• Raiffeisen ComunitățiprojectStrategic or Co-development PartnerAwarded a grant to AGORA Debate for the 'Dezbateri la îndemâna tuturor' (Debates within reach of all) project, creating an online debate course platform accessible to high school students and teachers in Cluj County.
• Colegiul Național George Coșbuc, Cluj-NapocacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for Cluj Debate Club activities and for middle school debate training sessions. Provides physical space for weekly club meetings and major regional events.
• ELSA Oradea (European Law Students' Association)projectStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegal debate partnership with Oradea Debate Society, organizing joint public debates on legal topics such as same-sex marriage recognition and other legal policy issues.
• MegaImageprojectStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner supporting the MegaDezbatere national competition series, which ran across four regions (Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Oradea, Sibiu) in 2021, addressing themes of environment, education, and nutrition.
• CloudflightprojectOthersProject partner listed among supporters of AGORA Debate's activities.
• EndavaprojectOthersProject partner listed among supporters of AGORA Debate's activities.
• TelenavprojectOthersProject partner listed among supporters of AGORA Debate's activities.
• TecknoworksprojectOthersProject partner listed among supporters of AGORA Debate's activities.
• ArtesanaprojectOthersProject partner listed among supporters of AGORA Debate's activities.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Asociația Română de Dezbateri, Oratorie și Retorică (ARDOR): ARDOR is the national governing body for debate in Romania and the umbrella network of which AGORA is one of six regional member associations. Directly comparable as both a debate organizer and membership association, sharing format standards, tournaments, and trainer pipelines.
• International Debate Education Association (IDEA): Global non-profit focused on debate-based education, operating clubs, curricula, and tournaments across multiple countries. Closely comparable to AGORA in mission (critical thinking via debate), non-profit model, and club/tournament organizing approach.
• BBU Debate Society: Babeș-Bolyai University debate society in Cluj-Napoca, which is itself under the AGORA umbrella. Comparable as a university-level debate club running British Parliamentary format competitions — but operates as an internal student club rather than a multi-school association.

Broad incumbents

• Oxford Union Society: Historic university debating society at Oxford running competitive debate and public speaker events. Comparable to AGORA's BBU Debate Society in hosting competitive and high-profile public debates, though focused on a single university and broader political/cultural events.
• National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA): Largest U.S. non-profit dedicated to speech and debate education, running national tournaments and curricula. Comparable to AGORA as a broader-scale debate education umbrella, though operating at much larger scale and in a different market.
• English-Speaking Union (ESU): UK-headquartered international charity promoting debate, public speaking, and oratory through programs and competitions. Comparable as an established educational charity running debate programs, with broader international scope than AGORA.

Others

• Fundația Comunitară Oradea: Romanian community foundation partnering with AGORA Debate on youth programs in Bihor County. Comparable as a local community/philanthropy partner rather than a direct competitor — useful as an ecosystem peer for funding/operating model context.
• Starea Națiunii Studențești: Coalition of 34 Romanian youth associations (of which AGORA is a member) co-organizing public debates on national policy topics. Comparable as a peer civic-engagement network with overlapping audience and event formats, rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ariassis
• Facebookfacebook.com/agora.debate.ro
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oradea-debate-society
• Instagraminstagram.com/agoradebate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about AGORA Debate Association