ICOY Circles

What it is

ICOY Circles is ICOY's original format. A moderator puts one question to three to five discussants who see it differently: a student, a teacher, a researcher, a practitioner, an official. They set out their positions briefly, respond to each other, and then open the floor to the audience.

What makes a Circle different from a panel is that it is built to reach somewhere. The moderator keeps the conversation on the question, draws out real disagreement, and closes by reading back where the group agreed, where it did not, and what it could not answer. That record becomes the event's public summary on icoy.org and feeds into ICOY's monthly and annual reports.

Why it matters

Circles give young people a seat at the same table as experienced voices, on questions that affect them. They reward listening as much as speaking, and they leave behind something useful: a clear account of what a community thinks about a question, and what it still needs to find out.

How an ICOY Circles event runs

A typical running order. Adapt the timings to your event; keep the shape.

1. 10 min

   Welcome and framing

   The host introduces ICOY and the event, states the question, and sets the ground rules: speak briefly, listen fully, disagree with ideas, not people.

2. 15 to 20 min

   Opening positions

   Each discussant has three to four minutes to set out how they see the question and why.

3. 35 to 45 min

   Moderated discussion

   The moderator puts follow-up questions, brings out disagreements, and asks discussants to respond to each other rather than to the room.

4. 20 to 30 min

   Open floor

   Attendees add evidence, experiences and questions. The moderator gives priority to people who have not yet spoken, and to younger voices.

5. 10 min

   Closing round

   Each discussant gives one sentence on where they now stand. The moderator reads back the points of agreement, the disagreements and the open questions, which become the summary.

What it covers

A Circle needs a question that is open (reasonable people answer it differently), specific (it can be discussed properly in 90 minutes) and close to home (it matters to the people in the room). A topic is not a question: "education" is a topic; "Should board exams be replaced by continuous assessment?" is a question.

Example questions

• Should schools ban phones in class, or teach students to manage them?
• Who should decide how our city adapts to extreme heat?
• What would make young people trust local government?
• Is social media making student activism stronger or shallower?
• Should every undergraduate do a year of community service?
• Can AI tools make homework fairer, or only easier?

Who does what

What makes a great Circles event

Who hosts it

School debate and Model UN societies, university departments and student clubs, resident and neighbourhood associations, libraries and youth organisations. A Circle is the simplest ICOY event to organise and a good first event for a new host.

Any of the three licence types can host an ICOY Circles event. Licences are free and each covers one event, named after the programme and your community, for example ICOY Circles@YourSchool. Every event must follow the ICOY Regionals guidelines, including the speaker, sponsorship and content rules.

After the event

Within 7 days, send the feedback link and write the summary in the ICOY format from your dashboard. If you recorded the discussion, submit each discussant's contribution for the ICOY YouTube channel. Download certificates for your discussants, team and attendees.