Asian Debating Website

Hong Kong BP Open 2008

2008-03-10T11:47:00.001+06:00

Dear all,

Hong Kong Parliamentary Debating Society (HKPDS) is hosting a BP tournament in July 13 to 16 2008 and is inviting debaters from across the asia-pacific region (and elsewhere around the world if they wish) to come to Hong Kong and participate.

The championship have an excellent core adjudication team, including Logandran Balavijandran (Chief Adjudicator, MMU Worlds), Loke Wing Fatt (Worlds Break Judge and founder of SAID), Fiona Prowse (Grand Finalist, Assumption Worlds), Jacob Cliffton (Semi-Finalist, MMU Worlds) and many others.

More information will be updated onto our website (www.hkpds.org) in the next week or so, including the official invitation letter. Meanwhile the latest information can be seen on our facebook group "Hong Kong BP Open 2008".

Aside from the first ever BP tournament in Hong Kong, HKPDS will also be holding our annual Summer Workshop for high school kids with trainers and guest speakers like British MPs during July 18 to 22 2008.

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Chaina 2nd IDEA-BFSU British Parliamentary Debate Tournament

2008-02-07T15:20:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

IDEA’s involvement in China continued successfully last weekend with the 2nd IDEA-BFSU British Parliamentary Debate Tournament in Beijing. Hosted by Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) and jointly sponsored by IDEA and the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP), the event drew over 200 debaters not only from Beijing, but also from as far away as Nanjing (10-hour train ride), Xi’an (10-hour train ride), Dalien (overnight train), and Ulaanbataar, Mongolia (the grand prize for the longest trip – a 2-day train/bus/jeep journey!). Many of the participants from the IDEA training at BFSU from November 2-4 of this year were at the tournament eager to put that session to use. Materials from that training can be found at http://wiki.idebate.org/index.php/Beijing_BP_Training.

This tournament featured impromptu debate topics which fell into one of 8 pre-released categories: Iran’s nuclear program, US troops in Iraq, UN Peacekeeping, private automobile ownership, technology in the classroom, Isreal/Palestine and the 2-state solution, the World Bank, and flaws in Western development models. Thus debaters knew the themes of the tournament but not specific motions. Even though debaters expected to have debates about UN Peacekeeping, for example, they perhaps did not expect the semi-final motion “The UN should have a standing Peacekeeping force.” This format encourages research but maintains the excitement of impromptu debating.

The final debate featured strong performances from all eight debaters on the topic “Reject the Western development model.” Even though all four teams put forth a strong effort, the second opposition team, comprised of Ellen Pang and Ji Zha from Peking University, were ranked 1st on the ballots of all 7 judges. After extolling the virtues of the free-market system and Western legal norms governing contracts and business rights, the Peking students argued that the Western model is not simply wasteful and exploitative, but improves the lives of people in countries where such models are implemented well. The final results from that round, and the top 4 teams in the tournament (out of more than 100 – quite an accomplishment!) were:

First place: Peking University - Ellen Pang and Ji Zha
Second place: Central University of Finance and Economics - Ji Ruonan and He Jingkai
Third place: Beijing Foreign Studies University - Chen Hao and Wu Mian
Fourth place: Beijing Foreign Studies University - Zhou Sheng Ru and Rui Yuan

Even though these four teams got the thrill of debating in front of a large crowd, all teams got at least 6 preliminary rounds and 32 got the chance to debate in octafinals. Simply to break into that top 32, teams needed an average of 2nd place in each preliminary round with high speaker points to advance.

As evidenced by this tough competition, debate seems to be becoming ever more popular in China. This May’s FLTRP Cup promises to be a large event and tournaments around Beijing will be held throughout the Spring. We hope to see you at IDEA-related events in China again in the future!

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

MMU Women's IV 2008

2008-02-07T14:46:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

Like each year Multimedia University of Malaysia is going to host Asias Grand Women's Debating Championship from February 15, 2008. All the other information is given bellow..

Host:Multimedia University, Malaysia
Date: 15th, 16th, 17th February 2008
Venue: CLC, MMU ( Melaka Campus)
Rego: RM 60 per person ( include food and t-shirt)
Format: Asian Parliamentary, N=1

Accommodation: Fenix Inn, Melaka Raya
RM 35 per person per night
www.fenixinn.com
Transportation provided to and from hotel and campus

Tentative of the Tournament:
NST- MMU Women’s Intervarsity Debate Championship TENTATIVE ( 3days)

Friday, 15th February 2008
Registration
Saturday, 16th February 2008
Debating Rounds
Sunday, 17th February 2008
Grand Final

Please confirm your Participation ASAP.

Regards,
Suriakala Sivalingam
Contact Email: mizzymatherz@yahoo.com

Qater Debate - A New Era for Middle East

2008-02-07T14:18:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

We are delighted to formally announce the creation of QatarDebate(www.qatardebate.org), the national student debating organisation for Qatar. QatarDebate was established in September 2007 with the aim of developing, supporting and raising the standard of open discussion and debate among students in Qatar and across the Arab World, shaping the Global Citizens of today and the intellectual leaders of tomorrow.

In the 4 months since its inception, QatarDebate has already worked with over 1000 students (from every nation in the Middle East) in Qatar to develop their debating and critical thinking skills through a series of regular workshops and to build social networks between schools and universities in Qatar and institutions around the world. Over the next 12 months, the Program will publish 4 debating training DVDs of workshops, show debates and expert seminars in both English and Arabic, organize a nationwide debate league and national competitions and send teams to both the World Schools’ and World Universities Debating Championships. Overall, we hope to create a world-class Program which will drive resurgence in debate, critical thinking and discussion of public policy issues in the Arab World.

The QatarDebate website www.qatardebate.org has just launched and includes information about debating in Qatar, QatarDebate coaching resources and links to the international debating community. Over the next month, a forum, blog and media streaming system will be added to the site, hopefully creating a debate and discussion hub open to students across the Middle East.

QatarDebate is a member of Qatar Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in Qatar and Chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, the consort to the Emir of Qatar, which aims to develop the potential of Qatar’s people through progressive education. The program is also supported by the Arab Democracy Foundation and enjoys a close relationship with the Doha Debates (www.thedohadebates.com), Qatar’s unique forum for free speech in the Arab World.

We hope that you will have a look at the website and be involved in the QatarDebate program in some way over the next 12 months.

Contact:
Andrew Goodman & Alex Just
Program Directors, QatarDebate
Andrew@qatardebate.org alex@qatardebate.org

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Exclusive: The Great Debaters

2007-12-08T07:59:00.000+06:00

"Debate is Combat but your weapons are Words"
- Actor and Director Denzel Washington

Dear all,

Each year World Universities Debating Championship brings us the oratory bonding with our debating fraternities from Across the world. This time WUDC is going to see the massive gathering with 400 worlds top debating teams and 400 adjudicators. Thanks to AU and the organizing Team of AU; TJ, Tarique, Ravi and other members of WUDC 2008 organizing Team for moving toward a Perfect Asian Version of Worlds. We all hope People will enjoy the championship with high standered debating involvement.

My thanks to the AU Team and the WUDC Council Members for holding the Standers for The Greatest Debating Show on Earth. from last few moths few of you must followed the latest updates of the Debating Movie "The Great Debaters" from World Debating Website, Global Debate and from the IDEA wiki. So i have decided to write this story for You all who are going to WUDC 2008 and for My friends Who are working 24/7 from AU organizing Team to make sure our comfort.

Ladies and Gentlemen Before WUDC 2008, The Hollywood will present you debating movie based on the True Story and which is also created a huge expectation for its debating involvement "The Great Debaters".

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Asian Debating Website Exclusive

By: Rashedul Hasan Stalin

This time of year, movie studios release their most prestigious films of the year in hopes of snagging Academy Award nominations. While it’s still too soon to call how African Americans will fair come Oscar time, the holiday season in US has brought black audiences much to choose from with movie such The Great Debaters. This year World Universities Debating Championship 2008 Circuit will have something to talk about except debating but a Debating Movie.

The Movie: The Great Debaters

The Great Debaters is based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas-USA who inspired his students to form the school's first debate team. Professor Melvin Tolson, a brilliant debate team coach, uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small African American college in the deep south into a historically elite debate team. A controversial figure, Professor Tolson challenged the social mores of the time and was under constant fire for his unconventional and debating teaching methods as well as his political views. In their pursuit for excellence, Tolson''s debate team receives a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard University ''s Debating Championship.
It tells the story of an award-winning team of debaters from Wiley College, a small, historically black institution founded in 1873 and located in Marshall, Texas.

In the 1930s the debate team, surpassed nearly every other team in the US in contests against universities as far-flung as the University of Southern California and Oxford. Nonetheless, the Wiley team was never officially accorded championship status because the national debate society of that day did not formally recognize black participation. Though unrewarded then, many of the graduates of Wiley's debate team went on to become the most eloquently influential movers in the civil rights movement, most notably James Farmer Jr., who founded the Congress of Racial Equality. He encouraged his students not only to be well-rounded people but also to stand up for their rights, a controversial position in the U.S. South of the early and mid-20th century.

Actor Denzel and his movie crew got to the hallowed ground because the Ivy League school doesn’t allow any commerical shooting of its campus. However, "The Great Debaters" did film the Great Debate inside Sanders Theatre’s Memorial Hall, one of the Crimson’s public facilities in Harvard University .

The film stars Denzel as Wiley’s debate team coordinator - and renowned poet - Melvin B. Tolson, and fellow Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker plays the college’s president. The movie’s script followed the real-life story to the letter, Tolson and his undefeated debate team, played by Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett and Denzel Whitaker,would have wound up filming at the University of Southern California, the true National Champions of 1935.

The Forgotten Black American Debate Coach

"Black Crispus At tucks taught / Us how to die / Before white Patrick Henry's bugle breath / Uttered the vertical / Transmitting cry: / 'Yea give me liberty or give me death.'" These words still reverberate in this sixty-sixth year of the celebration by African Ameri cans of "Black History Month." They express the importance that the struggle against socioeconomic and cultural racism held for Melvin B. Tolson in his lifetime and in the work he left to what he called "the vertical audience," that of the ages. This poet, orator, teacher of English and American literatures, gram marian, small-town mayor, theater founder and director and a great debate coach was born on 6 February 1898 in Moberly, Missouri, the son and nephew of Methodist preachers. The family moved frequently in Missouri and Iowa to the different churches his studiously intellectual but autodidact father pastored.

Melvin Beaunorus Tolson was an American Modernist poet, educator, columnist, and politician. His work concentrated on the experience of African Americans and includes several poetic histories. He was a contemporary of the Harlem Renaissance and, although he was not a participant in it, his work reflects its influences.Since his father was an itinerant Methodist minister, Tolson lived in several towns before graduating from high school in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1918. After spending his freshman year at Fisk University, he attended Lincoln University, Oxford, Pennsylvania, from 1920 until graduation in 1923.

In 1924, with an appointment in English and speech, Tolson started his teaching career at Wiley College, Marshall, Texas, where he stayed for the next twenty-three years. He showed an early interest in poetry, drama, and debate. He was only fourteen when his first poem was printed, and during the Wiley years the debate teams he coached earned considerable renown, while one unpublished play after another was locally staged. By the time Tolson left Texas in 1947, he had reportedly also been active in organizing farm laborers and sharecroppers. His next position was that of professor of English and drama at Langston University in Oklahoma, where he taught until his retirement in 1964.

In 1947, in connection with the centennial of his country, Liberian president William V. S. Tubman made Tolson poet laureate of Liberia, a gesture to which the poet responded with his Libretto for the Republic of Liberia (1953), a work that prompted Allen Tate to write, "For the first time . . . a Negro poet has assimilated completely the full poetic language of his time and . . . the language of the Anglo-American poetic tradition." This long, learned poem stands in the tradition associated with T. S. Eliot. In his last book Tolson returns to the world of Harlem with The Curator (1965), the first part of a projected work, Harlem Gallery. On May 25, 1966, Tolson received the annual poetry award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He died in Dallas on August 29, 1966, and was buried in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

The last Word

Many of you will break to this year's Worlds, some of you will win the title because you have allowed to participate as a Debater and because of your qualities. But think of those who were intentionally disallowed during 1930's in US. Culture and the Color made all the difference between the social classes once. Now time has come to move with tolerance, gratitude and harmony.

May The Spirit of WUDC 2008 Wins ............ ......... ..

The Great Debaters Movie Detail:
Directed by Denzel Washington

Release date(s)
December 25, 2007 just before WUDC 2008

Original Movie Trailer will be found at
http://www.thegreat debatersmovie. com/

Produced by
Oprah Winfrey
Denzel Washington
Joe Roth
Kate Forte
David Crockett
Todd Black
Molly Allen

Written by
Suzan-Lori Parks

Starring
Denzel Washington
Forest Whitaker
Denzel Whitaker
Kimberly Elise
Jurnee Smollett
Gina Ravera

Distributed by
Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer

Web Source:
http://www.questia. com/
www.lib.subr. edu/
www.doollee. com/
www.britannica. com/
www.imdb.com/
www.rottentomatoes. com/

Korea 2nd YCF Pre Worlds 2007

2007-12-07T23:52:00.000+06:00

Greetings mateys!

The deadline for registering for the Young Challengers tournament is but 3 days away! If we don't burst the cap with a huge amount of teams attending, this discourages organizers from hosting big tournaments AND giving you big prizes!

It's the first big Worlds style tournament in Korea, and an awesome opportunity to get to know the format and build the BP debating culture. Get as many people as you can to attend the tournament, even if they don't know the format, as it'll be a great place to learn.

Therefore, in summary, ladies and gentlemen, what this boils down to, in this august house, on this topic today, our team would like to say,
see you at 2nd Young Challengers Pre-World Debating Championships. And bring two more teams.

Championship Information: http://idea.gangnam.go.kr/info2.htm

Registration: http://idea.gangnam.go.kr/form_1.html

Cheers
Logan

WUDC 2008 Visa Info

2007-12-07T20:09:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

All of you must make sure you apply for a visitor's visa before entering
Thailand. Please refer to the link on immigration at our website for details on
visa. There are visa on arrivals for certain countries and all information
pertaining to that can be found on our website in the immigration link. The
page contain the following information:To get information on Thai Embassies and Consulates in your countries or region, for applying for your visitor's visa, please visit the following website:
http://www.thaiembassy.org/

Immigration Bureau Home Page for all Visa related issues. If you need in depth
information about immigration rules and regulations to visit Thailand please
visit the following website: http://www.imm.police.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php.
Your local Thai Embassy or Consulate should be able to provide sufficient
information for all visitor related visas.

Once you arrive at the airport there will be a fast track lane for WUDC
participants. Your entry will be processed fast through immigration. I hope
this is clear.

Kind regards,
Tarique

Singapore Arena Debate Qualifiers for 2008

2007-12-07T16:41:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

Following two rounds of auditions, 12 schools have been selected to participate in the televised rounds of the Arena II in 2008. These schools are:

- CHIJ St Joseph's Convent
- CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School
- Dunman Secondary School
- Fairfield Methodist Secondary School
- Global Indian International School
- Hwa Chong Institution
- Jurong Secondary School
- Madrasah Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah
- Nanyang Girls' High School
- Singapore American School
- St Joseph's Institution
- Raffles Institution

Congratulations to these teams. Good luck in the competition next year!

The judges were very impressed by the standard of all the teams who participated in the audition rounds. I think we're going to see a some very high-quality debating on TV next year.

Regards,
Mark Gabriel

WUPID and IDEA Wiki Partnership

2007-12-07T16:14:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

Contribute to PEACE on Debatepedia! The Debatepedia is the International Debate Education Association's (IDEA) wiki of debate and reasoning. It is a user-generated site with over 3,000 articles from contributers around the globe. At IDEA, we've partnered with WUPID and started a "Peace Tournament" category on Debatepedia so that the discussion of peace, tolerance and understanding can continue longer after you've left the tournament. Getting involved is simple: create a free account on Debatepedia, visit the CIMB WUPID page on Debatepedia (link below), and start contributing! If you are a debater or adjudicator and have ideas about peace or topics that you'd like to tell others about, create a Debatepedia page, and list it in the category "Peace Tournament" so your colleagues can see it and help improve it.

If you are an NGO Peace Roundtable participant or a debater interested in creating statements or policy drafts to disseminate, simply create a new Debatepedia page (category: Peace Tournament), let your colleagues know the link, and you'll be ready to begin your activism even if your co-authors are on several different continents. IDEA is making the tools available to you and hopes that you find them useful, but the content is yours - so help continue the discussion started at WUPID!

Regards,
Alex Dukalskis
IDEA Program Coordinator
adukalskis@idebate.orgwww.idebate.org
phone from Korea: 02.2648.7611
phone from outside Korea: (+82) 2.2648.7611

Source: http://wiki.idebate.org/

All India Inter-School Urdu Debate Competition 2007

2007-12-07T15:48:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

Doha: Dec 7, 2007: Safa Fatimah Siddiqui, a Class X students of Ideal Indian School, Doha, Qatar, has done her alma mater proud by winning second place in the All India Inter-school Urdu Debate competition organised jointly by Doha based Indo-Qatar Urdu Markaz and Hamdard Educational Society (Hamdard University) New Delhi.

The debate, which was held in Hamdard Convention Centre, New Delhi on 1st and 2nd December, found a large number of students from India and abroad taking part. The Ideal Indian School team led by Mr. Asif Ali Khan, a senior Urdu teacher also included Saad Mohd. Ismail, a student of Class X. Saad was awarded a consolation prize. Safa spoke against the motion: Indian Muslims Are Themselves Responsible for Their Backwardness, Not the Government.

She won a cash award of ten thousand rupees besides a trophy. Justice Rajender Kumar Sachhar, renowned for his impartial report to the Government of India on the backwardness of Indian Muslims, honoured them with trophies in a glittering ceremony organised in New Delhi.

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Source: http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=60176

Pakistan Mahbubul Haq Memorial Interschool Debate 2007

2007-12-06T04:28:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore Grammar School and Islamabad Convent School won first and second positions respectively in the 10th Mahbubul Haq Memorial Interschool Debate Competition held recently.The topic of debate was ‘Global warming, melting glaciers and rising sea levels spell doom for the South Asian region: A Myth or Reality!’ Students spoke in favour and against the topic.

Zainab Samantash of Islamabad Convent School was adjudged best speaker for the motion whereas Nayab Gohar of Lahore Grammar School was adjudged best speaker against the motion.The winning team from each of the SAARC countries will participate in the super final to be held in Delhi.About 18 schools from Lahore and Rawalpindi participated in this round of the competition.

Those who spoke in favour of the topic said global warming was a serious issue. They said environment was never a priority of the world countries that’s why the temperature was increasing at an alarming rate.They said global warming would increase floods in the world and affect the economic growth. They feared that global warming would seriously affect South Asia countries if practical measures were not taken to address the environmental issues immediately.

Those who spoke against the topic said South Asia countries were facing the problems of poverty, illiteracy and absence of basic amenities. They said these countries had to address the health problems and fight fatal diseases. They were of the view that all South Asia countries had limited resources and they could not afford to spend on the environmental issues ignoring the more pressing needs.

They said certain groups had created media hype where as the environmental problems were not as severe as being portrayed. They said only five glaciers were found melting slightly and there was only a slight rise in temperature during the last 100 years. They said South Asia must address its basic issues like poverty, illiteracy and health on priority basis.

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/

Malaysia CIMB Promotes World Peace Debate 2007

2007-12-06T04:04:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

That's what the CIMB Group World Universities Peace Invitational Debate (CIMB WUPID) is all about.The four-day event beginning Dec 16, will see top debating teams from 30world-renowned universities trying to outwit each other on the theme, "Peace: Respect, Tolerance, Togetherness".

The reigning world debating champions from Sydney University, along with the three top-ranked debating teams from Oxford, Cambridge and Hart House University of Toronto will be vying for top honours.CIMB Group Corporate Communications head, Effendy Shahul Hamid, said CIMB was proud to organise the world-class event where the best debaters could engage in a civilised, intelligent disagreement, on peace.

"Only the best debating teams were invited to participate in the event," he told a press conference here Wednesday."Malaysia will be represented by Universiti Teknologi MARA, the Multimedia University and International Islamic University."The winner takes home the prize money of RM10,000 and the CIMB WUPID challenge trophy.CIMB fully sponsors the current top four ranked debating teams. The rest of the teams need only pay for their trip to Kuala Lumpur, while everything else is on the house.

The preliminary rounds will be held at Universiti Kuala Lumpur, the quarter-finals and semi-finals at the Novotel Hydro Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur, and grand final at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.The public is invited to witness the battle royale. Entrance is free.

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=300623

WUDC 2008 Transportation Announcement

2007-12-06T03:19:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

The transportation team is only providing transportation services from December26th, 2007 till January 5th, 2008. If you are coming early or leaving late, youmust arrange your own transportation. Of course the team will always be here toassist. Please do not forget to fill in all your arrival and departure datesfrom Bangkok. If you do not put the information in the system, we will nothave airport pick up and drop off service for you.

Please email our transportation director at jim@assumptionworlds.com
Please contact him asap.

kind regards,
Tarique

Pakistan Annual Educational Debate and Literary Contest 2007

2007-12-06T01:50:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

Annual educational and literary contests for girls were arranged by Faisalabad Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) on Wednesday.

At the Govt Girls School Kohinoor, the competitions for Urdu Debate and Calligraphy were held. Among the speakers who spoke for the notion, Ayesha Anayat from the Govt M C Girls High School stood first, while Faiza Akram from the Govt Girls High School and Shakeela Batool from the Govt Girls High School Kamalia won second and third positions respectively.

Speaking against the notion, Tayyaba Mukhtar from the City Star Public High School won the first prize, while Sabeen Ahmed from the Govt M C Girls High School Samanabad and Iqra Matloob from the Kindergarten Girls High School Eidgah Road bagged second and third positions respectively.

In Calligraphy competition, Tajwar Aashiq from the Govt Girls High School Karkhana Bazar won the first prize, while Saba Aslam from the Govt Girls High School Dalgirrah and Aniqa Amin from the M C High School Bhawana Bazaar stood second and third respectively.

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Source: http://thepost.com.pk/NatNews.aspx?dtlid=132472&catid=2

Philippine Inter-Collegiate Debating Championship 2008

2007-12-06T01:18:00.000+06:00

Hi everyone,

In response to several institutions' inquiries about a possible change of schedule for the Philippine Inter-collegiate Debating Championship 2008, the Board of Directors has decided to move PIDC 2008 from February 23-27 to April 3-7, 2008. We hope this will allow more participants to join and raise the tournament's level of competition.

Updates on registration and other tournament details will be posted soon on this egroup and on the tournament's official website, www.pidc-online. com. For any other concerns or comments, please don't hesitate to reach us directly at pidc2008@gmail. com or 09164763660.

Thank you, and we hope to see you all at UP Diliman!

Regards,
BJ Es. Guerrero
Communications Director
PIDC 2008
Email: pidc2008@gmail

Source: debate_philippines E-Group

All Asians 2008 Host NSUDC and Rhetoric 2007

2007-12-05T06:29:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

It was a fine September morning in Delhi, and the English Debate Society of Sri Venkateswara College (University of Delhi) was hasty with all the last minute preparations of Rhetoric 2007, unaware of how it would create history in Bangladeshi debating. After the event's huge success last year and the years before that, EDS.SVC took extra care to make this year's Rhetoric the best and biggest so far, with over 40 teams participating from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, it turned out to be most significant for Bangladesh, since Rhetoric 2007 gave Bangladesh its first ever international breaking team, making proud North South University and the country's debate fraternity.

EDS.SVC has been the most constructive associations in the Delhi University and has been a platform where students exhibit their best skills at public speaking and are awarded for the same. It is among the top in the Delhi University debating circuit. Last year EDS.SVC organized .Rhetoric 2006: Indo-Pak Debate. The winning team GIKI, Pakistan was awarded cash prizes and certificates of appreciation from the President of Pakistan and the Government of Pakistan. Rhetoric 2007 was a three member parliamentary debate based on the Australasian format of debating with self-incorporated variations.

Rhetoric 2007 began with the opening address from the Principal of Sri Venkateswara College, Dr. A Sankara Reddy. The tournament displayed some of the best debaters in Asia, with teams from RVCE (last year's finalist at the All Asians), National Law School, Ramjas and other reputed institutions from all over India. Pakistan was represented through three institutions; Lahore School of Economics (this year's quarter finalists at All Asians), GIKI and another law school from Islamabad. From Bangladesh, EDS.SVC had invited North South University, IBA and Dhaka University. However, only NSUDC 'BROKE' into the quarterfinals.

The competition was held at the Delhi University campus from 10 14 September 2007. A total of 126 debaters in 42 teams from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh participated at the tournament. There were five rounds of preliminary debates, and then the break was announced. The NSU team, comprising of, Sheemtana Shameem, Nayeem Kashem and Sinha Ibna Humayun was also the only international team to qualify for the quarter-finals, apart from being the sole breaking team from Bangladesh. They competed with well renowned teams in the preliminaries and in the process won debates against teams from Delhi University, Campus Law College, Loyola and Lady Shree Ram College. Sheemtana was 'best speaker' in all of the five preliminary debates that the team had to survive through. NSU eventually lost in the quarter-finals to the ultimate finalists from Rashtriya Vidyalaya College of Engineering (RVCE). The final was between RVCE and Delhi University, with the eventual winners Delhi University being awarded cash prizes of over 40,000 rupees.

The success of the tournament was in part due to the high quality of adjudication that was prevalent throughout the tournament. NSU Debate Club excelled here too, with its freshman member Paromita, becoming breaking adjudicator, thereby having an opportunity to adjudicate at the quarter-finals stage of the competition. NSUDC promotes all aspects of debating whether it is debating or adjudicating, thus along with the debate team, five adjudicators, Raisa Ashrafi, Mushfiq Wahed Rusho, Samin, Paromita & Mahnaz, were also sent to Delhi. The adjudicators did a fine job throughout the tournament. Again, NSU was the only institution from Bangladesh which had adjudicators at Rhetoric.

The international teams participating in the competition were put up in the International Youth Hostel in the Delhi University South Campus.

This allowed the students to relax and mingle with each other on an informal level, and interact more congenially. The NSUDC members made a lot of friends, and enjoyed their time with both the Pakistani & Indian teams, as well as the IBA and DU teams. The bonding was remarkable between these students, as they went out sightseeing, shopping, and experiencing the beautiful city of Delhi together.

One of the most important features of international tournaments such as these is that it provides an opportunity for people from different cultures and societies to interact and gain a greater understanding of each other. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, share a common history and culture in the sub-continent yet there is so much more that we can learn from each other. The various socials during the course of the tournament provided a platform for such interaction to take place, and this was also the exact platform that was necessary for the entire eight member North South University delegation, to propagate the ALL ASIANS 2008, which they are proud to be hosting next year.

The highlight of the tournament was the banquet dinner at the India Convention Center, arranged on the break night after all the preliminary rounds of debating was over. The dinner was attended by the Chief Minister of Delhi and the Vice Chancellor of Delhi University. NSUDC had a brief presentation about the upcoming ALL ASIANS 2008, before the breaks were announced. After the announcement of the break the whole of the Bangladesh delegation was delighted at North South University's feat, this again showed how the spirit of debating brings everyone together regardless of institutions.

Over the last few years debating in Bangladesh has grown from a niche extra-curricular activity that appealed to only a few, to a one encompassing all students in all institutions, hence creating a vibrant debate culture in the country. This has lead to the increased participation of Bangladeshi universities at international debate competitions. NSUDC has been participating in international tournaments for more than a decade now, Worlds, All Asians and other numerous tourneys abroad. The recently concluded Rhetoric 2007, International Parliamentary Debate Championship, has seen the club add more to its success a remarkable international achievement. North South University is delighted at the performance of the team, Sheemtana Shameem, Nayeem Kashem and Sinha Ibna Humayun, in being the first Bangladeshi team to reach the knockout stages of an international debate competition, and in the process bringing a great deal of pride to the nation and to its debate club.

Regards,
Sheemtana Shamim

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2007/11/01/feature_NSUDC.htm

Japan 13 th JPDU Debate Championship 2007

2007-12-05T02:35:00.000+06:00

Japan Parliamentary Debate Union Debate Championship 2007

Team results:

1st Prize　　ICU J
Tomohisa Ishikawa / Satomi Hemmi
2nd Prize　 Tsuda A
Kana Sato / Hiroko Tachibana
3rd Prize　　Titech A
Hiroyuki Hirano / Masayoshi Yoshikawa
3rd Prize　　ICU B
Toshiaki Ikehara / Nami Maezaki

Quarter Finalists

ICU D
KDS A
ICU A
UK A

Oct Finalists

Tsuda D
Kyoto A
ICU F
KGN A
ICU C
ICU I
TWCU A
Kyoto C

Motions:

Round 1: THBT nations engaging in human rights abuses should not host the Olympics.
Round 2: THW support affirmative action for women-only corporations.
Round 3: THW give citizens the right to vote against a candidate in an election.
Round 4: THW prosecute copyright infringers without formal complaints from copyright holders.
Round 5: THBT the WTO should allow the use of safeguards to prevent cruelty toward animals.
Oct Final: THBT permanent members of the UN Security Council should dismantle their nuclear arsenals.
Quarter Final: THW lagalize marijuana for pleasure.
Semi Final: THBT English should be the single official language in the United States.
Grand Final: THBT parents should have the right to choose the sex of their babies.

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Source: http://www.jpdu.org/works/tournaments/13thjpdut2007.html

Indonesia Depok Debating Championship 2008

2007-12-05T01:48:00.000+06:00

Hi!!

I want to invite the high school student for participating in smansa depok debating championship..!! I know there're some coaches here, Tirza (SMuki), Wijay & Onta (34), Surya, and so on.. That's why I also want to make sure that your teams can join this awesome competition!!! =)So, for you that want to show off your effort in coaching, let's prove it!!

Well, now is the chance to shine! Prove your abilities by joining English Debating Championship by , an annual English competition held by SMAN 1 Depok in order to celebrate its birthday..

Debate
Open for : High School students only, team based competition, each team consisting of 3 people. One school can send more than 1 team but not more than 3 teams. U only have to pay the registration fee : Rp 200.000,- per team !!!

The Debate Competition consists of two teams taking opposite sides, arguing upon 45 motions that can be given at the technical meeting at December 27th 2007. In terms of choosing the motions, we will use preferences metode. It will adopt the Asian Parliamentary style which allows POI (Points of Information) during the 7 minute
substantive speeches of the speakers.

The event will be held on January, 10th-12th 2007, at SMAN 1 Depok,(Jln. Nusantara Raya 317, Depok). But dont forget to attend the technical meeting at December 27th 2007 also at SMAN 1 Depok.The registration period starts from December 3rd 2007 till December 27th 2007.

So, what are you waiting for? Just prepare yourself to seize the glory and get the prizes. We provide millions rupiahs and certificate for every participant who join us!

For more information, please feel free to contact Nicko (021-93338053) or Amrie 08569889923/021-99928835

And for the fellow Adjudicators,
There will be an EDC 2007 in SMAN 1 Depok (Jln. nusantara Raya 317 Depok)on 10 - 12 Jan 07 for highschool debate competition. So, we invite you to join it to be an adjudicator!

And this year's CA is myself (Tyas) and DCA is Dyota.. =) We hope you will spare your time to come. The competition will start approximately at 8 am and end at 5 pm.
You will get "nice" compensation, certificate, and snack .. =) So far, we will give Rp. 25.000 in preliminary (single) and Rp. 30.000 in elimination round (panel).. But it still tentative, let's pray that the committee will provide higher "salary"..hehe..

We need a fixed list, and here are the quotas:
Jan 10 2008:
There will be 3 prelim rounds and we need 15 adjudicators
Jan 11 2008:
There will be 2 prelim rounds and we need also 15 adjudicators
Jan 12 2008:

In octo final, we need 24 adju's
In quarter final, we need 12 adju's
In semi final, we need 10 adju's
In final, we need 7 adju's

I really hope that u can register your name ASAP to us and you will get a safe position... ;) .

We look forward for your participation. And please inform :
Tyas 0819.322.44408/ 99020204
Dyota 081.789.4090/ 99020205
if you are interested to be an adjudicator. Or you can email me at
astatin_90@... and give me your number and other details
(accreditation, experience in adjudicating, etc),ok?

Join us and you wont regret!!

-Tyas and Ota-

For further info about the competition or debate registration, you
can contact : Nicko 021-93338053 (nicko2_cool@...)

Thank you!!
Asrining Tyas

Korea KHSDC IV 2008 Updates

2007-12-04T22:32:00.000+06:00

Dear Debate Community,

I would like to apologize for not updating the KHSDC website as stated earlier
because I need some extra time to finalize all the components needed for a successful
championship.

Registration will be delayed a week and motions will be released 7 weeks before
the tournament to ensure that all interested parties have enough time to get their
forms together.

KHSDC IV Registration: December 10 - 28 5 pm
A download-able package with forms, instructions, and guidelines will be at
www.khsdc.com on Monday night after 9 pm. I have received several e-mails concerning registration and will address those collectively:

On Finding Judges:
Yes we are working with the university debate community towards creating a system for
you to find judges and such information will be ready by the weekend;

On Cost:
The tournament fee is 150,000 KRW per debater. Dormitories are 76,000 KRW per debater. Meals are 30,000 KRW per person which means that adjudicators, or the teams they are paired with, will be asked to pay for their meals. Coaches, not participating as adjudicators, will be charged full event fees. Adjudicators, Liaisons, and Organisational staffs will have their lodgings paid for by
KHSDC. Special considerations will be given on a case-by-case bases for those
wishing to have an overnight's stay as an Observer. Please contact me directly for more detailed information.

On Institutional Cap:
It has not been determined how many teams from each school will be automatically
accepted into the championship because I have yet to determine how many institutions are willing to participate. You can well imagine the difficulties if 21 schools send applications with the expectation that their first 2 teams are in the tournament. So that is why I am asking Liaisons to share how many teams they wish to send before establishing the cap. I have not received notification from all the Liaisons as to how many teams they can field and so cannot speculate how many teams will be automatically eligible while others wait.

If those remaining Liaisons continue their silence then I will only accept 1
registration form per institution, with the 6-teams and 6-adjudicators listed, and will fill the tournament between 5:05 and 9:00n pm on December 28th. Basically, you can list 6-teams per school but there are no guarantees at this point as to how many of them will get in.

On In-House Team Selection:
My process: First Cut: 1-page essay answering "Why I need KHSDC IV". Second Cut:
Auditions: 1-on-1 impromptu debate on a current issue adjudicated by an outside
panel of 3-judges. The ranking is based on the total of 'Speaker Points' (re: KHSDC
Rules, www.khsdc.com). The third and final cut/ranking comes from team-on-team debates as well as my personal experiences with coaching the students. Then the bad news is sent out as the registration form is filed and the wait begins.

On Qualifying Standards for Ranking In-House Teams:
That differs depending on the goals of your students. Do they want the school to
bring home a trophy? Do they want a prize? Do you want either or would you balance the experienced/rookie debaters? If there are only 2 teams allowed then I would offer my most experienced senior team and an up-incoming rookie team, then rank the next teams downwards according to previously mentioned criteria.

Once all pre-registration forms are collected on the 28th, and the tournament filled, Liaisons will be notified how many of their teams will be accepted into KHSDC
IV.Fees will need to be paid on January 2-3-4 with the Motions being released on Friday the 4th at 11 pm.

Thank-you for your questions, concerns, and understandings. All be ready soon...

Sincerely,
Ian M. Yovdoshuk
Convenor,
KHSDC IV.

IIUM AUDC Two Announcements

2007-12-04T17:36:00.000+06:00

Hi guys,

1. The website is ready. All the information should be there. If the website does not contain adequate info, please contact us and we will try to furnish such information. Website is http://www.iiuaudc.com

2. The invitation package for the 4th International Islamic University Malaysia's Asian Universities Debating Championship 2008 (IIU AUDC'08) is ready. For institutions that wish to receive the invite-pack, please inform us by Dec 8th 2007 so we can snail mail it to you.

What's inside the package? Invitation letter, schedule, hotel info, letters for your VC's/Student affairs head, CD's of debates, etc.

Please email us the corresponding address, name of the person in charge (PIC), phone number (with IDD codes), and email of the PIC.

Our contact info:

Inquiries: ask@iiuaudc.com
Registration issues: rego@iiuaudc.com
General questions: iiu.audc@gmail.com
Website: www.iiuaudc.com
Convener: yem@iiuaudc.com
Chief Adjudicator: latif@iiu.edu.my
Please categorize your queries and send them to the respective emails. That way, we can better monitor your response.

Truly,
Miss Asmaa' AlJuned & Miss Michelle Usman
Liaison Officers
IIU AUDC '08
See you then!

IIUM's Explanation Regarding Nomination of DCA for AUDC 08

2007-12-03T20:28:00.000+06:00

Dear AUDC Union Members,

Best Regards. First of all, I extend my sincere apology for not being able to provide this explanation earlier. I had been busy over the last few days and had been caught up with some family matters. Here are some important explanations regarding our choice of 4th DCA for IIUM AUDC 2008.

1) At the time of our bid we have mentioned that we will most likely utilize the full 4 DCA quota for the IIUM AUDC 2008. However, by the time of the bid we had only announced 3 DCAs since we were only able to confirm with them by then. Regarding the 4th DCA we did not manage to confirm by the time of the bid and we also wanted to see the possibility of our last DCA from other regions other than South East Asia and we also wanted to see the interest of teams from these regions.

2) From the very beginning, we were interested to have the 4th DCA from a region other than South East Asia, since we already have plenty of DCAs with excellent credentials from South East Asia in our adjudication core. During IIUM Teams’ participation in Bangladesh Open, we have made contact with plenty of universities in Bangladesh and many of them have committed to attend the AUDC 2008. We are confident that in the AUDC 2008, there will be many teams from Bangladesh and other South Asian countries. Thus their representation in the Adjudication Team is important.

3) Regarding the credentials of Mr Stalin, he has already forwarded the details of his debate involvement in the region and AUDC. We believe that he meets the requirements to be a DCA and his presence will enhance the performance of the Adjudication Core. We also believe that it is in the long term interest of AUDC to include newer faces, newer institutions and representation of various regions wherever possible without compromising quality. Our Adjudication Core reflects both quality and representation. A brief on the Details of Adj Core is stated afterwards.

4) At the time of bid we made 3 specific commitments: High Quality Adjudication, Participation of Teams from Regions other than SEA, Affordable Registration Fees. We stay strong to these commitments and you may have observed that from the steps that we are taking to achieve them.

IIUM Adjudication Core:

1) CA/ Latif: Champion of Asians, Quarterfinalists of Australs, DCA Asians and Australs, Adjudicated Australs and Asians Finals and Worlds’ Semifinals.

2) DCA/Priyam: Quarterfianlists Australs, Winner Several Singapore IVs and Preworlds, Breaking Adj at Worlds.

3) DCA/Martin: Quarterfinlists Worlds, Semifinalists Asians, Top Ten Best Speaker AUDC and Asians, DCA-Philippines Nationals.

4) DCA/Ravi: Internal CA Worlds, Breaking Adj Australs, CA Asians, DCA Thailand Nationals, Grand Final Adj AUDC and Asians.

5) DCA (Proposed)/Stalin: Champion of Bangladesh National IVs, Debated at 2 Worlds, Adj Worlds and AUDC, Coach Bangladesh National School Team (Broke to Octo at World School Debate), CA (Internal) Bangladesh Open, CA- for several National IVs.

We hope that the Union will endorse our steps and guide us every step of the way to present an excellent AUDC for everyone. For more details on the IIUM AUDC 2008 and Adj Core please visit http://www.iiuaudc.com/ . Thanks.

Regards,
Latif
Chief Adjudicator
IIUM AUDC 2008

1st South Asian-(SAARC) Inter School Debate 2007 Ends

2007-12-03T19:02:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

The Vice President of India Mohd. Hamid Ansari presented the awards for ‘Dr. Mahbub Ul Haq Memorial SAARC Inter-School Debate Competition’ at a function here today. The topic of the Debate was the ‘Global warming and climate change’. He presented the winner trophy to the team of Pakistan and the runner of trophy to the team of India. The Best speaker (For) award was presented to Mr. Prerak Pradhan of Nepal and the Best speaker (Against) award was presented to Mohd. Aeeal Hasan of Maldives. The function was jointly organized by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies.

Addressing on the occasion, the Vice President said that the debate was named after a person who was a man of great vision and was concerned with the security for all. Expressing his concerns on the deteriorating environmental conditions he said that we are confronted with the problems of extraordinary dimensions. All these problems are due to our own doing. He cautioned that the nature has acute sense of balance and if we disturb the balance, humankind will have to face the consequences.

Congratulating the winners of the debate, the Vice President said that today the awareness among the masses about these important issues is inadequate and he hoped that these winners will spread the right message.

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Source: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=33643

Yale team wins China CCTV Debate Competition 2007

2007-12-03T18:45:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

Yale’s Chinese debate team defeated delegations from universities around the world to claim victory in last week’s International Varsity Debate series, jointly hosted by New Media Singapore and China Central Television.

The team — composed of Adam Scharfman ’08, Nick Sedlet ’08, Austin Woerner ’08 and J.T. Kennedy ’09 — beat students from Oxford University in the final round of the debate competition in Beijing to win the championship last Tuesday. “I think what it says about our program of Chinese language instruction is extraordinary,” University President Richard Levin said.

From the beginning of the tournament — which took place from Nov. 19 to Nov. 30 — Yale’s team was favored to win, East Asian studies professor and team coach Wei Su said. Despite the pressure this expectation placed on the students for the rest of the competition, he said, Yale was deemed by many observers to be the most skilled team.

The University’s team members returned to New Haven on Nov. 30.Yale’s team was in a bracket with five other universities at which Chinese is not the native language. Six native Chinese-speaking universities competed in a separate bracket.

The team faced off against Oxford in the first round, debating the question of whether smoking should be completely or partially banned in public places, a jet-lagged Scharfman said early Sunday morning in the Branford College common room. Despite having to argue the more difficult stance — that smoking should only be partially banned — Scharfman said, the judges appreciated Yale’s arguments, which focused on individual rights.

Ewha Womans University in South Korea was the Yale team’s next competitor. The two teams debated whether bullfighting in Spain should be banned, with Yale taking the affirmative. The South Koreans’ language skills were impressive, Scharfman said, but they weakened their argument by not dealing with the issue of bullfighting’s cruelty. “We kept asking them if they thought it was cruel,” he said. “But they kept on dancing around it, saying bullfighting was beautiful.”

After Oxford defeated Russia’s Moscow State Institute of International Relations in the semifinals, the Yale team faced the Oxford students again in the final round. This time, the question related directly to university life, Scharfman said: Should institutions of higher education be easy to get into and difficult to graduate from, or hard to get into and easy to graduate from?

Yale’s team defended the position that universities should be difficult to get into and easy to graduate from by arguing that such a policy would increase the quality of students at universities while also allowing them to explore a range of opportunities with an open mind, Scharfman said.

The team argued that Yale falls into this category of school, Scharfman said, given that it has a very low acceptance rate but a high graduation rate. The debates were evaluated by four judges, each of whom had one vote, and a 12-person “jury” with one vote between them, Scharfman said. The judges were drawn from a pool of international Chinese professors, members of the Chinese media and political figures familiar with China.

At the end of each debate, team members were asked to recite a poem, play a musical instrument or talk about the experience of studying Chinese, Scharfman said. These events showcased the diverse talents of the Yale team, Kennedy said. “A lot of the other teams didn’t really have much to offer,” he said. “But all of our team members have very well-developed interests within the areas of Chinese language and culture.”

Kennedy participated in the three-person debate in October, when students from Tsinghua University in Beijing came to New Haven for the first round of the tournament. Yale was deemed the winner among Columbia, Princeton and Harvard universities, an initial victory that allowed Yale to represent the United States in the finals in Beijing.

But the team decided to rotate in alternate Sedlet for the Beijing rounds, Scharfman said. Kennedy, who became the alternate for the finals, helped the team prepare for debates by researching arguments and organizing fan support in Beijing, Scharfman said.

The tournament’s sponsors paid for the team’s airfare, lodging and food. Sedlet said although the experience was a valuable one, it was fairly stressful. “They kept us pretty overscheduled and on a tight leash,” he said. Light Fellowship Director Kelly McLaughlin said the team’s success is a reflection of the strength of Yale’s Chinese program, as well as of the availability of Light Fellowships to send students to study in China.

“This victory sends a message that Yale University might well have one of the best Chinese language programs available anywhere in the world,” McLaughlin said in an e-mail Sunday. “[It] gives one concrete measure of how Yale’s liberal arts education leads not only to technical skill but also to the ability to synthesize diverse knowledge in impressive, non-scripted ways, even when under tremendous pressure to perform.”

CCTV will continue to broadcast the debates for the next few weeks, Scharfman said, and the debates can also be viewed on CCTV’s Web site.

The network has no editorial independence from the Chinese government.

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Source: http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/22663

Indonesia EDS-UGM Debate Open 2007

2007-12-03T18:12:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

A debater, even an old one, might spend his/her entire life debating without even knowing that (s)he debates in an improper way. Finding a reliable guidance can be really hard, especially in such a competitive atmosphere of the Indonesian debating world. Everyone is thirsting for achievement and experiences that it¢s so unlikely that they would spare a second telling you what to say in your casebuild and 7 minutes of your speech time.

Fortunately, there¢s a party that¢s aware of this inconvenient circumstance and taking a step further to bring an enlightenment to all debater facing that particular issue. Providing a leisure time of casebuilding and evaluation together with experienced coaches, guaranteeing a level of debate you might never have experienced before, are just some of the advantages we are offering here in EDS UGM DEBATE OPEN 2007.

EDS UGM DEBATE OPEN 2007 will help you to to learn and refine debating skills through the sharing skill from prominent and well-experienced debater. We will use Asians Parliamentary Style (7 minutes substantive speech, 4 minutes reply speech, POIs are encouraged). There will be 5 preliminary rounds and 1 Grand Final round. In the end of the competition we will anounce several awards: Champion, Runner-Up, and Top 3 Best Speakers, and Best Coach.

When
Saturday-Sunday, 15-16 December 2007

Where
Faculty of Mathematic and Sciences (MIPA), South Campus, Jl. Raya Kaliurang Km.2 Sleman Yogyakarta

Registration
Rp. 250.000/team, It will cover meals during the competition, certificates, Trophy and prizes.However, you need to cover transportation and accomodation by your own, but we warmheartedly will assist you with any queries regarding the local transportation and accomodation.

Coaches
So far, respective coaches from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Univeraitas Indonesia (UI), UNIKA Atma Jaya Jakarta, Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara (STAN), and Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) have provisionally confirmed their participation in this events.

Enthusiastically, we also proud to pronounce that the Chief of Adjudicator (CA) and some of the selected Deputy Chief of Adjudicators of the upcoming IVED -- as the largest national scale debate competition -- are willing to spare their time and wholeheartedly dedicate it to become coach in this event. Thus we promise you to experience the most prestigious and advantageous event in the local debate calendar. Soon, we are going to release the fixed list of coaches along with their credentials to ensure the quality of the tournament.

Casebuild
We are going to extend the usual casebuiding time from 30min into 45 min to ensure the maximum effect of coaching. In the debate, your coach would adjudicate your team (of course with another neutral/non-coach adjudicator) to provide you constructive feed back towards your team's performances.

See you in EDS UGM Debate Open 2007.

See you in Yogyakarta

Warm Regards
EDS UGM

Source: Indodebaters

Ateneo wins 9th Philippines National Debate Championship

2007-12-03T05:15:00.000+06:00

Dear all,

Imagine a place where you couldn’t wear short skirts, tank tops or your beloved Havaianas. A place where you had to be highly disciplined and keep your voice down, wake up early and not wander around.Now imagine that place as the same place where you’d have to stand in front of random strangers and speak for seven minutes about a topic few people have ever heard of.

That was exactly the situation participants of the 9th National Debate Championship, held at the grounds of the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City, found themselves in.The National Debate Championships are held every October and attracts debaters from all over the country. From universities in Luzon to other universities in Visayas and Mindanao, these students make time during their precious semester break to troop to the host colleges.

And every year, all the participating universities and colleges prepare themselves for the tournament by training their debaters and adjudicators (the participants who judge debate, students like us) and reading magazines and newspapers to be updated on current issues as much as possible.For us in the UP Diliman contingent, this NDC was a chance to defend our 2006 championship. My teammate Diana and I were training as hard as we could because this was our last NDC as undergraduates.

What was really different with this year’s NDC was the fact that, well, it was held in PMA. Most of us had never been in the company of so many alpha males all at once, and that was already different. A friend of mine actually said, “They’re hot in uniform especially when they’re in groups.”

Okay, seriously now, the biggest difference was the efficiency and organization of the event. Military training and discipline definitely permeated the whole tournament. The very first day (registration), we had to wait for our whole contingent to be completed before we could even get our IDs taken, which took us about two hours.Lesson learned: Be on time. Something that we had to take into heart or else we’d be left behind by the buses provided by PMA for the trip to Fort del Pilar.

Bonding activities

Before the competition formally started, the organizers set up different activities to foster camaraderie. While most of us would rather just sit and watch or go to the ukay-ukay, the team-building activities looked fun, so some people joined in.We had dinner with the cadets in their mess hall. They told us how difficult life was for them. While they enjoyed training and studying in one of the best schools in the country, they were also aware that they had to give up their lives for the country if needed. Of course, they kept the banter light so the participants won’t leave dinner feeling sad.

The cadets also did a fashion show of all the uniforms they wore (minus the sleeping garb, which would have been more fun to see). This, of course, elicited more squealing from the girls.Then they surprised us by holding a bonfire in honor of the participants. Our cadet escort, Cdt. Ann Sinson, told us the organizers gave up part of their allowance in order to fund the activities. A cadet band played music while we stared at the fire burning in the middle of Borromeo Field.

All the activities were fun, but there was one thing people were eager for: the debates. This year, the topics ranged from the question of West Bank autonomy to Manny Pacquiao’s impact on Philippine culture.Any debater knows that merely knowing issues and having the logic to argue them through is not enough. There’s also this thing called angas factor that can be achieved through fashion. How exactly does fashion have a hand in all of this?

Well, take me, for instance. On the first day, I went to the rounds wearing my hip-length denim jacket and an asymmetrical top on top of my bootleg jeans and boots. It was enough to make people sit up and notice. Of course, the right “costume,” if you will, could show off your all-important sense of confidence while you delivered your speech. It was an excuse to wear your hottest clothes and give yourself a dose of self-assurance. See, debaters aren’t always serious.

Debating in NDC is a chance for college students to test their mettle when it comes to various issues. Annalyn Avila, a three-year debater and first-time adjudicator in the Nationals from UCW, noted that debaters, especially those coming from provincial schools, had shown marked improvement. Even previous high-school debaters like Carlo Flores of UP Diliman found NDC particularly challenging. “In college, lahat nangangagat. It’s not like high school where it was easy to beat someone. Here there are no sure victories,” he said.

Good experience

For me, the event turned out to be a good experience even if my team did not make it to the Top 32. The fact that I believed in the words I was saying and that I was giving some of the best speeches of my life was enough. Being able to persuade people with your words was an awesome feeling. And it didn’t hurt that I had a fantastic partner as well.

More, the championships were also a means for us to make friends with those from other contingents. One of the most memorable events was the Cadet Hop. Normally, debaters would party like crazy during the Break Night Party or when they find they had scored high enough to get to the finals. This time, during the Cadet Hop, we were required to wear formal clothes. Cadets were supposed to ask people to dance with them, and all that formal stuff. But we found ourselves storming the dance floor once the Pussycat Dolls started blaring from the speakers.

Being at PMA was definitely an experience. On one hand, we had to adjust to the strict rules of the place. On the other hand, we also felt very honored to be welcomed and hosted by these cadets, who, as PMA Superintendent Maj. Gen. Leopoldo Maligalig said, are stripped of their freedoms inside the institution (like freedom of speech and freedom to wear whatever they wanted) in order for students in other universities to practice theirs.

For that, we say thank you, PMA, for allowing us to practice the greatest freedom we know, the freedom to argue and say what’s on our mind.Ateneo once again bagged the championship, beating two UP Diliman teams that gave them a hell of a fight. NDC was a memorable event, never mind if short skirts were out of the picture.

Regards,
Rashedul Hasan Stalin

Source: http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/