8 February 2008
Amsterdam Open
Registration for the Amsterdam Open 2008 has opened (April 25th & 26th). Go to this page:
http://amsterdamopen.asdvbonaparte.nl/registration/ And register!
Here's the quick info:
1. For teams it's 70 euros (35 per person) and for judges it's 20 euros.
2. CA-panel: Daniel Schut, Kirsty Russell and Avihu Tamir
3. We provide crash, and the option to let us book a ho(s)tel for you - but for that you'll have to pay an extra fee.
Do I need to explain why you want to come? I think not - you're already well aware of the following reasons:- We provide an excellent tournament: good motions, well-run schedule, ideallocation, highly professional movies for motions, it's all there!
- We provide Amsterdam. Well, technically the city was there before us. Buthey: this gives you an excellent reason to visit the city where capitalism was invented, and explore both the low and the, ahem, high ends (*get the joke? haha. hahaha. haha. ahem) our culture provides.
- We are easy to travel to, and well-accomodating of all our guests.
You knew all this - what more reasons could you need?
So, sign up ASAP with the registration form provided at our website - and we'll be welcoming you soon!--
Daniël Schut
Limerick IV
You can register by contacting Aoife Finnerty on +353861632835 or at uliv2008@gmail.com or facebook.
7 February 2008
Tallinn Euros 2008 update
We are writing to prepare you for some upcoming communication about Tallinn Euros 2008 from members of the organising committee.
All official communication from the organising committee will be posted on the EUDC list, the Tallinn Euros facebook group, the British Debate list and the website.
On Sunday, February 10th, Maarja Teder, our Communications Director, will be sending out information on how to register for Talinn Euros 2008, starting on Monday March 10th 2008. The email will include a Frequently Asked Questions section. If you have a query which is not covered there, you will be able to write to Maarja – she will compile your questions and publish a weekly FAQ to address them.
Keep up to date with progress on our website - http://www.eudc2008.eu/
And you can email us at the following address - info@eudc2008.eu
We look forward to seeing you all for a fantastic week in Tallinn. Be Estonished!
Best wishes
Helina and Neill
Helina Loor, Convenor
Neill Harvey-Smith, Chief Adjudicator
Debate Championship in Botswana.
Bakang Phokoletso got the scholarship after he emerged the best speaker in the national debating championships held at St Joseph's College, Gaborone last week. The event brought together about 28 senior private and public schools among them Maruapula Secondary School, Legae Academy, Naledi Senior Secondary, Mater Spei College and Lobatse Secondary School.
6 February 2008
Glasgow University Euros Bid 2009 - Adjudiction Update
As the Convenor and prospective CA of Glasgow University's bid for the European Debating Championships 2009 we are delighted to be able to make the following announcement.
As our bid has made strong progress in logistical and financial terms (as those of you at this weekend's ESU European Parliament IV and saw our presentation will have no doubt seen) we now feel it is appropriate to take our Adjudication situation to the next level of organisation also.
It is the intention of the Glasgow bid Orgcom that our tournament has the most open and inclusive ethos possible- in short we want all of Europe to tell us what it wants from our bid and their tournament.We want this openness and transparency most especially in our choice ofAdjudication team. Therefore we would like to take this opportunity to invite applications for the positions of DCA for the 2009 EuropeanDebating Championships in Glasgow. All those who are interested in applying are invited to reply to this email enclosing the information described below. Completed applications must be emailed to tait.da@gmail.com by 6pm(GMT) on Wednesday March 7th 2008. This process will be undertaken very much in the style which was recentlyused by the Cork Worlds 2009 Orgcom.
Please include the following informationin your application:
(a) Name, Email, Telephone Number (including international dialling code)
(b) BP Debating Experience
(c) BP Adjudication Experience
We welcome applications from across the continent and candidates would ideally display, a level of enthusiasm and commitment in keeping with the best spirit of European Debating. We particularly wish to encourage applications from ESL speakers and adjudicators as it is crucial to us that this bid be not just represent Glasgow, but all of Europe.The full adjudication team will be announced by the end of April. We are more than happy to provide prospective applicants with more information about our bid and team should they request it (with the exception of where we are bound by commercial confidentiality to our partner organisations). More information can be found on our facebookgroup at http://glasgowuni.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4611927373, and shortly our website http://www.glasgoweuros.com/
We would also welcome feedback and comments on any aspect of the bid. As we said this isn't just for us but all of Europe. So if there is anything you've particularly enjoyed in the past, or want in the future please let us know. As ever thanks for your time and support, we look forward to hearing from you.
Claire Brown
David Tait
Prospective Convenor Glasgow Euros 2009
Chinese New Year
5 February 2008
Results from Scotland
ESU European Parliament IV
16 teams from across Europe competed in the ESU European Parliament IV. St Andrews (representing Scotland) won the IV with Rich Penny of Helsinki, Finland the top speaker on the tab and Art Ward of Cork, Ireland the best speaker in the final.
The finalists were:
1st Prop - Deree College representing Greece (Manos & Eirinie)
1st Opp - St. Andrews representing Scotland (Doug & Connie)
2nd Prop - UCC representing Ireland (Art & Tiernan)
2nd Opp - Hesinki University representing Finland (Rich & Ina)
The motion for the final was: This House Believes That The European Union Should Have A Common Foreign Policy.
Strathclyde Cup
UC Cork (Tiernan Fitzgibbon & Art Ward) won the Strathclyde Cup with Beth O'Connor the top speaker on the tab.
The final was:
1st Prop - Fluffy Liberal Kittens (Ewan MacDonald & Beth Connor)
1st Opp - Old People (Kenny Fleming & Jason Vit)
2nd Prop - Molotov & Ribbentrop (Niall Kennedy & John Stewart)
2nd Opp - UCC (Tiernan Fitzgibbon & Art Ward)
Motion for the final: This House Believes That Universities Should Act To Curb The Binge Drinking Activities Of Their Students.
Edinburgh IV
The Composite team of Art Ward and Doug Cochran won the Edinburgh IV.
The final was contested between:
1st Prop - Maddie A Torso (John Stewart & Jason Vit)
1st Opp - Manchester DB (Dan Bradley & James Dixon)
2nd Prop - Durham A (Calum Jones & Rachel Francis)
2nd Opp - Trinny & Suzannah (Art Ward & Doug Cochran)
Motion for the final: This House Would Partition Iraq.
Source: Britishdebate
Baltic Debate Championships 2008
The championships are on Friday 25th of April and Saturday 26th of April
The registration fee with be €25 per debater, and €15 per judge. N-1 applies for judges
Only Baltic societies may enter during the first stage of registration. For the purposes of this competition 'Baltic' will mean the three Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and then any countries with Baltic Sea coastline (eg Germany, Denmark, Sweden etc).
Speeches in the Prelims will be 5 mins in length. The semi and final will be 7 mins.
This is a worlds style event, and use the worlds scoring system.
To register contact the Reg Officer: Anna Bessonova, at helsinkidebating@gmail.com or visit the website at http://helsinkibaltics08.blogspot.com/
4 February 2008
Anger at Oxbridge.
The Oxford Union, which has been criticised recently for some controversial guest speakers and debate topics, now finds itself in a dispute over the presidency of the society with allegations of electoral malpractice, abuse of power and harassment. This dispute has been ongoing since last November but seemed to have dropped off the media radar .
This morning a number of papers are carrying stories that the President, Secretary and Treasurer of the Cambridge Union have all resigned following "an altercation" at a meeting last week. They claimed that "constant in-fighting" had hampered their attempts to introduce "democratic reform" into the world's "oldest debating society" but it appears tempers boiled over into a physical altercation.
Oxford:
Oxford Union election battle gets nasty (Times)
Poll rigging, sex jibes and a case of the Oxford blues at prestigious university's union (Mail)
Oxford Union launches PR fightback in Delhi boy case (Times of India)
Indian student in Oxford Union battle (NDTV)
Cambridge:
Angry student society leaders quit (PA)
Oldest debating society talks itself to the brink of closure (The Times)
Cambridge debating society in turmoil (Telegraph)
Revered Cambridge Union Society descends into chaos after fight breaks out at debate (Mail)
2nd World Universities Peace Invitational Debate (WUPID)
Many would perhaps be wondering whether there would be another WUPID - and the answer is yes. Despite the ambitious plans of having the tournament follow the Worlds, WUPID will still be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The organizers are currently in final talks with potential sponsors, government agencies and non-profit organizations. The website will be up the end of February and you will get plenty of info from there. In the meantime, we will also be issuing news and updates on MLYSN (the official weblog for WUPID) and you may find these updates in other blog entries via World Debating and Global Debate Blog - hopefully.
The event is tentatively scheduled to be on the 15 – 20 December 2008. If there are any changes, it will be posted in the official website and weblogs mentioned earlier.
Debate like you give a damn.