Update from European Debating Championships

Dear (prospective) participants of Amsterdam Euros,
Thank you all for being very cooperative in the registration process: this helps us making the whole tournament run smoother, as we can now start the process of room assignments, ESL status decisions, logistical planning for arrivals day and order the exact number of meals for each dietary preference. A few people have not yet filled out the form, and we would be very grateful if they could do so as quickly as possible at http://eudcvuconnected.nl, as we will make final deals with our caterers and the hotel on June 1. After that date we will try to cater to your needs as best as we can, but we cannot give any guarantees.

Please find more information below on the following issues: an introduction of our key note speaker for the public debate on Monday, details on arrivals day, the reopening of registration, some comments on travels, visa and DAPDI: a five-day training week taking place in Rotterdam the week before Euros.

Euros is rapidly coming closer, with only seven more weeks to go and we are increasingly looking forward to meeting all of you. See you in July!

With kind regards,

Anne Valkering


Public Debate

We are very proud and honoured to announce that Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), will be the keynote speaker at our public debate on Monday the 12th. He will discuss the trade-off between peace and justice: should we accept a war criminal’s offer for peace in exchange for amnesty? Luis Moreno-Ocampo will explain why he thinks not and will allow you to question him on his position on Monday the 12th of July. A show debate will clarify the pros and cons of not giving amnesty in exchange for peace. The public debate starts at 8 pm and if you want to be able to register comfortably and have dinner beforehand, you want to try to arrive at Schiphol before 3 pm.

Arrivals Day
We will proceed to pick up everyone whom we know Is arriving there from Schiphol international airport on the 12th of July. If you are not arriving at Schiphol, you will need to find your own way to the hotels, or but a train ticket to Schiphol (trains leave every 13 minutes, costs are around three Euros) where you will be picked up if you let us know in advance. Arrivals day is a free day, although ESL interviews will be planned on the day. You will have to find your own meals and entertainment for the day, but we hope you will join us for the public debate.

Registration reopens
We are almost at the end of our waiting list and are inviting teams who have not had a chance to register or who are having second thoughts about their decision not to register, or to cancel, to register for a spot on the waiting list. All the general rules of eligibility are still relevant to those registrations, but non-European teams are also invited to register. Please let us know if you are interested by sending an email to registration@amsterdameudc.org. We will then contact you with further details of the procedure. If you are not yet sure, we hope our program will convince you of the need to be in Amsterdam in July: http://www.amsterdameudc.org/?page_id=15

Travels without ash
It seems like Eyjafjallajökull is here to stay (well it always was) and there is a chance it will interrupt air traffic during or right before our arrivals day (Monday 12). We have a tight schedule on the two preliminary days, which does not leave much room for delays. This means that anyone who does not arrive on Monday the 12th or Tuesday the 13th before 8:30 am (at the Vrije Universiteit), will have to be cut from the first round, however little they are to blame.

If you have not yet booked your tickets, and are in one of the areas more prone to shutdown due to volcanic ash, you might want to look into alternative means of travelling, like ferries: http://www.ferrylines.com/ or trains: http://plannerint.b-rail.be/ or http://www.nshispeed.nl/ Alternatively, you might want to book your flight a day earlier, so that you do have a chance to catch another flight the next day. This will, however, bring extra costs, as we will not be able to offer you free accommodation in our hotel the night before arrivals day.

Visa
We would like to remind everyone who needs a visa to start applying, as you will soon no longer be able to reapply if the first application is refused. If you need any help applying for a visa, or if you need documents, please contact us at registration@amsterdameudc.org . People from the following countries will need visa: Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Qatar, as well as people from countries not generally considered part of Europe. People from Montenegro and FYR Macedonia will need a visa unless they have a biometric passport. People from Serbia will need a visa in case their passport is issued by the co-ordination directorate (koordinaciona uprava).

DAPDI
The Erasmus Debating Society hosts the 2010 edition of the Dutch Anglo-Saxon Parliamentary Debate Institute from Monday 5 till Friday 9 July. The training and tournament week provides an excellent preparation for Amsterdam Euros, which is held only three days after DAPDI. Last year’s participants and winners of DAPDI went on to win the ESL category of EUDC only a few weeks later. DAPDI is a joint effort of the Erasmus Debating Society and the Oxford Union. The first three days are filled with intensive workshops and seminars, followed by a two-day preparation tournament. For all questions, registrations or anything else, please contact us at convenor@dapdi.nl . Also be sure to check http://www.dapdi.nl/