This Blog has now moved to idebate.org/worlddebating - all future posts will be made there!

19 November 2010

Zimbabwe to bid for PAUDC 2011

Zimbabwe are bidding to host the 2011 Pan African Universities Debating Championships PAUDC). Their bid, along with any others, will be presented and voted on during the upcoming PAUDC in Namabia.

Here is the bid document:

18 November 2010

Botswana Worlds set up Q&A forum

The Botswana org committee have set up a Q&A Forum to answer questions people may have.  If you want to know something, check out theier Q&A Forums.

If no one has asked that question - then ask it and They'll get back to you as soon as possible. If you see an unanswered question that you can answer, be a good neighbour and take a shot at it. They are hoping this will reduce all the repetitive emails we have to send out about the lions...

IDEA/BFSU tournament registration open‏

The fifth annual IDEA -- BFSU International Debate Tournament will be held from December 10-12, 2010 at Beijing Foreign Studies University in the heart of China's capital city. This tournament will feature an English division, a Mandarin division, and a Moot Court division.


The official format of the tournament will be a four-team (worlds style) parliamentary debate. Training sessions for judges and debaters will also be available immediately before the tournament. IDEA trainers will conduct all training sessions.

Each university is initially allowed to register two teams. Universities will be allowed to enter one additional English team for each Mandarin team they enter.Students do NOT need to register as a team. They may register as individuals and IDEA will help find partners for these individual debaters. Registration ends on December 8, 2010, at 9:30 pm Beiling time.

Additionally, the tournament site offers students an opportunity to see the historic and modern sites of Beijing, from the Forbidden Palace and the great Wall of China to Tiananmen Square. Tours can be arranged locally.

Visit http://willamette.edu/cla/debate/events/China/IDEA_BFSU2010/ for more information

17 November 2010

DLSU Worlds 2012: Call for DCA Applications

Dear World Debating Community,

We would like to announce that we are officially opening the application process for the Deputy Chief Adjudicator posts for the DLSU World Universities Debate Championships 2011-2012 hosted by De La Salle University-Manila, Philippines. Deputy Chief Adjudicators are key parts of the adjudication team, and contribute to the effort of running the debating side of the tournament. Their responsibilities include, but are not limited to, motion selection, ranking of adjudicators and communicating with tournament participants and officials. One DCA will be selected from each of the following regions: the Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Oceania, based on the region in which applicants do (or most recently did) the bulk of their debating and adjudication. In addition, one or more of the DCAs selected will themselves be currently eligible for the ESL or EFL language categories of the tournament, or have extensive experience speaking in one or both of those categories at debating tournaments.

 DCAs should be able to:


  •       Commit to being at the tournament, and to being available shortly before its formal start      date for on-the-ground preparation 
  •        Select and critique motions for debate at the tournament
  •        Rank judges effectively
  •        Provide insight into the debating community they are from, and particularly into its adjudicators, both established and less well-known
  •       Work to ensure that all participants experience an exciting, stimulating, fair and enjoyable tournament, regardless of demographic groups, langauge categories etc they may be part of, or personal circumstances which might obtain
  •       Combine honesty and diplomacy while acting as the 'faces of the tournament'
  •       Conduct themselves in a manner conducive to a professional, good-natured tournament

Send your application documents (CV and application form) to both sam.block@dlsuworlds.com and to lucinda.david@dlsuworlds.com, by 1200 GMT on Friday the 3rd of December 2010. If you are unable to access the form via this website www.dlsuworlds.com, please email either Sam or Lucinda for a form. If, for whatever reason, this timescale presents you with problems, please get in touch. Following this, the process will be as follows:


  •        By 1200 GMT, Friday the 3rd of December 2010, all applications must have been received.
  •       Monday the 6th of December 2010, feedback process opens; feedback invited on all applicants.
  •      1200 GMT, Friday the 17th of December 2010, feedback process closes; any feedback must have been received by this point to be taken into consideration.
  •      In the subsequent weeks, candidates will be contacted. DCAs to be publically announced at or before WUDC 2011.

We look forward to receiving your applications.  Please do not hesitate to email us if you have any further questions.

Best Regards,

Sam Block and Lucinda David
Co-Chief Adjudicators
DLSU Worlds 2012
www.dlsuworlds.com

2nd East Asian Invitationals 2010 Results and Motions

The 2nd East Asian Invitationals 2010, organised by the Higher Education Service Centre (GAES) of the Macau Government was held from 11th to 15th Nov 2010 at the charming Pui Ching Middle School in Macau. This year, the top 16 invited Asian varsity debating teams represented 9 countries/territories were: ADMU (Philippines), UT Mara (Malaysia), TU/ICU (Japan). Chulalongkorn U (Thailand), TWEDS (Taiwan), NUS (Singapore), PKU & Tsinghua U (China), HKU (Hong Kong), and UMAC/IPM/MUST/USJ (Macau).

Competitors at the 2nd East Asian
Invitationals
These 16 debate teams were judged by 7 top Asian adjudicators: 4 DCAs Sharmila Pramanand, TJ, Suthen "Tate" Thomas, Satya Venugopal, 2 Invited Adjdudicators: Dr Omar Salahuddin, Ms Ely Zosa and CA: Loke Wing Fatt. These 7 top judges were joined by 6 China/Hong Kong judges: Crystal Zhao, Nancy Xue, Carol Luk, Kevin Li, Jasmine Tam, and Amanda Ou.

In the Grand Final, Shiveena Pramanand and Cecile Danica Gotamco of the Ateneo De Manila University defeated National University of Singapore (Ashok Rai & Kelvin Chong), University of Macau (Nicole Ng & Omoleye Segun Emmanue) and University of Technology Mara, Malaysia (Mohd Shariq & Mohd Syafiq) to become Champions for the second time.

Mr Kelvin Chong was adjudged as the Best Speaker of the Grand Final, while Ms Shiveena Pramanand was voted as the Best Speaker of the Tournament.

On behalf of all the debaters, adjudicators, coaches, supporters, and friends of the Macau debating community, I would like to thank Dr Kuok Sio Lai, Ph.D., Acting Director, Higher Education Service Centre, for her unstinting support for this event. Thanks must also go to Ms Monie Kwok, Ms Stephanie Io and Ms Eva Kou for making the tournament such a great one for everyone involved. Everyone was impressed by the hospitality and professionalism of the support staff at the 4-Day tournament.

We look forward to the 3rd East Asian Invitationals 2011 in Nov 2011.

2nd East Asian Invitational 2010 Motions:
Round 1 This House would pay the poor not to have children
Round 2 This House would refuse to extradite suspected criminals to states where they face the death penalty.
Round 3 This House would stop all development aids to Africa.
Round 4 This House believes that oil companies should not be allowed to hold patents on renewable technologies.
Round 5 This House believes that army bases should their own state-sponsored brothels.
Semi-Finals: This house believes that USA should end all efforts to broker peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Grand Final: This House believes that 1st World Liberal Democracies should repeal all laws on treason.


Loke Wing Fatt
Chief Adjudicator
2nd East Asian Invitationals 2011 in the Macau SAR, China

15 November 2010

Preparing for Worlds: some topics

As mentioned in a previous post I have a list of potential topics for Worlds.  It's a list I first published a number of years ago and I tend to repost it every year.  I have added a few new topics and deleted a few out of dates ones.  This is not a complete list of possible topics.  I have no idea what motions the adjudication team for Botswana will come up with.  It is just a starting point to get you going on research.  If nothing else its just there to give people a kick up the backside to start reading up on some stuff instead of turning up at Worlds with little knowledge of anything outside their little local bubble.

If you can add any to this list then that would be very welcome.  Please post them in a comment and I'll add them to the list.

Aboriginal justice (e.g. aboriginal community courts)
Aboriginal rights (access to land, language etc)
Adoption (e.g. overseas adoptions, Celebs (Madonna, Elton John)
Afghanistan (e.g. failed democracy and drug production)
Africa and China (partnership or exploitation)
AIDS prevention (e.g. condoms, drug patents)
Anti social behaviour (e.g. ASBOs in UK)
Anti-terror leglislation (e.g. patriot act)
Assassination of heads of state
Art, state funding of
Ban hunting (e.g. fox hunting in UK)
Bank Bailouts (UK, Ireland, US, Germany)
Banker Bonuses
Burma (e.g. Aung San Suu Kyi)
Capitalism vs Socialism (e.g. failure of one over the other)
Carbon quotas (National or individual)
CCTV (use of)
Child care (e.g. for working mothers or maternity/paternal leave)
China and Taiwan
Children's rights (e.g. role of state to protect versus role of parents)
Citizen initiated referenda
Citizenship exams
Class action lawsuits (banning them)
Cloning (Animals, Humans etc)
Compulsory ID Cards
Computer Games (e.g. violence in)
Condoms in Pornography
Consensual Cannibalism
Cuba (e.g. sanctions against)
Darfur and Sudan
Death penalty (e.g. US, concept of “redemption”)
Debt forgiveness (nations, IMF, EU fund)
Debt forgiveness (individuals, mortgages etc)
Development Aid (benefit of)
Divorce (access to, Fault vs no fault)
Drugs (legalislation of, war on)
Egypt (e.g. rise of Islamist political parties)
Embro rights (e.g. right to life, right to implantation, parental rights)
Energy (e.g. generation of, political use (Russian Gas))
Established Journalism vs blogs/podcasts
EU Commission (e.g. election of)
EU Democracy (e.g. Only Ireland held referendum on Lisbon)
EU Expansion
EU Lisbon Treaty/Constitution
EU single working language
European Central Bank (role in national budgets)
EU/US relations (e.g. trade, terror etc)
Euthanasia/right to die
Euro (e.g. Italy/Ireland should abandon, UK should adopt)
Exploration of Space (e.g. Mars, ISS, China)
Extended alcohol drinking licences (e.g. 24 hour pubs)
Face transplants, ethics of
Far Right Parties (access to the Media, BNP)
Freedom of labour movement (e.g. migrant labour in EU)
Freedom of speech (e.g. Muhammad Cartoons, Holocaust Denial, Wikipeadia)
Gay public figures, Outing of
Gay rights (marriage, priests, adoption etc)
Genetically Modified Organisms (e.g. food)
Green Energy (benefits, hype etc)
Graduate taxes (paying for your college education)
Healthcare (e.g. US, cost of, etc)
Honour killings
Human genetics (cloning, stem cells etc)
Human Rights linked to sporting events (e.g. Olympics in China)
Hybrid energy (e.g. hybrid cars)
Illegal Immigration (e.g. into US/Australia/Europe)
International Adoption (e.g. Romanian orphans)
International ban on whaling
International Challenge in business (i.e. industry moving from west to east) AKA "Outsourcing"
International dimlomacy (e.g. role of UN, US, EU etc)
International emergency response force (e.g. Tsunami, Earthquake, New Orleans)
International extradition of terrorists (CIA flights to Europe) aka International Rendition
International laws on intellectual property (copyright, patents etc).
Internet music/film Piracy (e.g. Pirate bay etc)
Internet Pornography (e.g. .xxx domain names, child porn)
Internet Privacy (retention of browsing history, e-mails etc)
Internet regulation (ICANN and role of US government)
Iraq, future of
Israel (right to defend itself, settlement building)
Judicial independence (e.g. appointment or removal of a judge)
Korea (North v South relations)
Limit Free speech (e.g. Holocaust denial/incitement of terror/Turkey & Armenia/Thailand Royal family)
Limits to self defence (e.g. right to shoot intruders in your home)
Mandatory minimum sentences (e.g. for drug crimes)
Maritime Law (e.g. flags of convince)
Marriage (e.g. states should only recognise civil partnership)
Medical "fashion" (e.g. hype around Bird Flu, SARS, Swine Flu)
NAFTA (expansion of)
Natural Disasters (international reaction to, Hati, Pakistan, etc)
Nobel Peace Prize (e.g. merit of)
Nuclear Power (e.g. environmental benefits/costs)
Nuclear proliferation/disarmament (e.g. Iran. Khan network)
Obesity in Children
Palestine, future of
Parental consent for medial treatment of under 16s (including seeking an Abortion, obesity, MMR)
Parental responsibility for crimes of children
Parents rights (e.g. father's access to children)
Pensions (e.g make them compulsory)
Performance enhancing drugs in sport
Piracy on the high seas (e.g. Somalia)
Piracy on the internet (e.g. pirate-bay)
Pollution (e.g. BP oil spill)
Pre-emptive military action (e.g. Israel v Iran)
Prisoners rights (rehabilitation vs punishment, voting rights, standard of care)
Privacy of the Catholic confessional
Privacy online (facebook, google streetview)
Prostitution (e.g. legalisation of)
Public sector vs Private sector (benefits of working in one over the other)
Public vs Private education
Public-Private partnerships (e.g. in infrastructural development)
Reality TV (influence of)
Religious dress in school/work (e.g. Hijab in France, Crucifix in Italy)
Religious education (e.g. what should be taught in state funded schools)
Religious law Vs National Law (e.g. canon law)
Religious sites (location of e.g. WTC Mosque, respect for eg police raids)
Respect for national sovereignty (e.g. in war on terror)
Respecting Ethnic Diversity (muslims in France, travellers in Ireland, aboriginal populations)
Retirement Age (e.g. raising it to 75)
Rights of minority to homeland (Basque, Kurds etc)
Russia (e.g. economy, democracy)
Salary cap in sport (e.g. English Premiership)
Social Media (youtube, blogging etc)
Social Networking (e.g. facebook, twitter)
Social partnership (e.g. Unions, Government, Employers working together)
Social welfare (% or minimum wage, vouchers vs payments)
State funding for charity (Overseas aid budgets)
State funding for sports
Swine Flu (hype or real risk, government response, vaccination)
Tax incentives for artists
Taxation (what to tax, social contract etc)
Telephone records (e.g. state monitoring private calls)
Term limits for politicians (e.g. Bloomberg in New York)
Terrorism Compensation (e.g. Lockerbie, IRA)
Testing on Animals (drugs, cosmetics etc)
Tibet (Independence, Dali Lama)
Torture (e.g. use of in war on terror, waterboarding)
Trade Unions (e.g. benefits of, dangers of)
Trade Unions (e.g. future of)
Traffic problems (e.g. Congestion charges, toll roads, mandatory car pooling etc)
Treatment of addicts (e.g. access to further treatment e.g. transplants)
Truth & reconciliation commissions (South Africa, Ireland etc)
Turkish entry into the EU.
Turkish genocide in Armenia
UN (e.g. reform of)
Vaccination (international programmes, swine flu)
Vegetarianism (benefits of, parents chosing for children)
Voting Rights (e.g. age, convicts, emmigrants)
War Crimes Tribunals (Serbia, Karadzic)
Welfare payments (money vs vouchers, work for welfare etc)
Women in politics (e.g. quotas)
Women's rights (e.g. in the Church, workplace, education etc)
WTO Negotiations (e.g. Agricultural subsidies, Tariffs)
Zimbabwe (democracy, constitution, elections)

14 November 2010

LSE Win Oxford IV

LSE A (John Ashbourne & Anser Aftab) have won the 2010 Oxford Intervarsity.

Erasmus Rotterdam (Daniel Springer & Jeroen Heun) won the ESL competition. 

The tab has been posted here

Breaking Teams
Cambridge A
Cambridge B
Yale C
Manchester SR
Durham A
Manchester AJ
Yale A
Stanford B
Monash
Sydney
TCD Hist B
ULU C
Princeton AL
UBC A
LSE A
St Andrews

ESL Break:
Groingen B
MGIMO A
Helmut Kohl and E Germany
Erasmus A
Lieden
BBU C
Urecht B
Mykolas Romerus
UCU WH

Motions
Final: This house believes that democracies should conscript citizens by lottery when facing any prolonged military intervention.
Semi Final: This house believes that, compared to a planned economy, the free market does not make ordinary workers more free.
Qtr Final:  This house believes that the UN should offer large bounties for the capture of pirates and the destruction of pirate ships
Round 1: This House believes that Adoption Agencies that receive state funding should give priority to same sex couples and infertile couples.
Round 2: This House would ban the use of armed combat drones.
Round 3: This House would tax those who use expensive lawyers in order to fund state prosecutors and legal aid.
Round 4: This House would require large online social networks to be controlled democratically by their users
Round 5: This House would hold the state liable for injuries or deaths due to being homeless.
ESL Semi: This house would abolish state funding of all arts degrees
ESL Final: This house would alter WTO rules to allow poor countries to erect protectionist barriers against rich countries


Source: http://progymna.blogspot.com/ and http://achteminute.vdch.de/

Preparing for Worlds

At this time of year I get some queries asking a few common questions related to Worlds.  Therefore each year I move this post up to the top of the blog to answer some some general questions.

Q. I would like to go to Worlds.  How can I register?
A. Unfortunately at this point you can't.  Registration happened back in June and was over subscribed in 90 seconds.  You can visit http://www.botswanaworlds.com/ for more info.  The best thing to do is aim for Worlds in 2012 (Manila) and in the meantime look at attending some of the big IVs or regional championships.  Oxford and Cambridge are in November and WUPID in December and all are also well worth looking at.

Q. We have tried to register for Worlds and can't.  Can you help?
A. No I can't.  I don't have any role in the organisation of Worlds.  My Emeritus role on council is a non-voting honorary one so I don't have any power to help.  To be honest even if I did have the power I wouldn't attempt to override or influence the hard working org committee.

Q. Where can I find more information about Worlds?
A. Other than this site (http://www.debating.ie/) visit http://www.botswanaworlds.com/

Q. Are there any Training guides for Worlds?
A. Yes.  Lots.  Best place to look is http://worlddebating.blogspot.com/search/label/Training

Q. Are there any videos of Worlds format?
A. Yes. Again lots.  The best place to look is http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/

Q. What topics are likely to come up?
A. That's not quite like asking what the lottery numbers are but it's not far behind.  A quick look at past Worlds motions show that it covers a wide range of subjects.  In recent years I have published a list of potential topics.  I'll republish it but bear in mind that the list has 130 topics and there are many many other potential subjects.  The best way to prepare is to be as well read as possible.

Q. What are good sources of information on topics?
A. At this stage it's about reading and understanding as wide a range of subjects as possible.  Be up to speed with the latest topics and issues.  Assuming you are going as a team or squad then share the work. I suggest you buy versions of Time, Newsweek and the Economist. The Economist World in 2010 special edition is due our soon and is always useful.

On the internet start reading the BBC website. As well as breaking news they often have good topic outlines and backgrounds. Some other websites exist with more general principle based topics.  Check http://www.debatabase.org/ and http://www.debatewise.com/  as both have talking points on many topics.

If you are looking to create a case file then remember that the key is that you have to know the information is there. You won't have time to read every thing between now and the start of the tournament. Create an index of the topics you have in the file. And it has to be paper based. Worlds rules prohibit the use of electronic equipment.

Q. What happens if a topic comes up I haven't researched?
A. This isn't just likely it is certain.  It is important to understand that no matter how much research you do you will have to debate several topics which you have not prepared for. You can't have covered everything. In a case like this don't panic but go back to the "first principles" post in the training section. http://worlddebating.blogspot.com/2005/12/preparing-for-worlds-3-first.html . One key thing is not to panic.  Be comfortable speaking and this leads me to the next question.

Q. How do I train for Worlds?
A. The best way to train for debating is to debate.  It's one thing to know what to do and how to do it but it is another when you are standing up there translating thoughts to speech.  I recently spoke in a debate for the first time in several years (usually I judge).  I was so rusty it was scary.  I knew what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it but I just struggled more than I expected.  The best way to prepare for Worlds is to debate as often as possible.  If you can go to some IVs.  If you can't get to many IVs then organise Worlds style debates within your society.  The more you speak in debates the more natural and fluent it will become for you.