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

26 September 2008

First US Presidential Debate tonight, maybe

OK it's not university debating, and some people may say its not debating at all, but possibly the most watched "debates" around the world are the debates that occur every 4 years between the candidates for the US presidency. It is likely that there will be at least highlights if not live coverage somewhere on your TV over the weekend. While there have been some memorable moments in past presidential debates there is some disagreement on the importance of the debates

The first debate is supposed to occur tonight at the University of Mississippi but this is in doubt as both the candidates are in Washington pretending to be playing an important part in rescuing the world economy but in reality are chasing the TV camera crews that moved from filming them endlessly shaking hands with ordinary voters to go report some real news.

If the debate happens it is supposed focus on foreign policy and national security but given the current economic crisis don't expect the candidates to stick to that (assuming they turn up). The candidates will stand at podiums and the debate will be made up of nine, nine-minute segments where each candidate will speak for two minutes to speak and then they will "debate" for five minutes.

The moderator is Jim Lehrer.

The second and third debates take place on the 7th October and the 15th October.

Some useful sites for more background on US presidential debate http://presidentialdebateblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.mydebates.org/
http://www.debatescoop.org/
http://www.debates.org/

22 September 2008

Victoria IV 2008 - November 28-30

The Victoria University of Wellington Debating Society is pleased to announce the details of the fifth annual Victoria IV, aka the NZ British Parliamentary Open Debating Championships.

The tournament this year is being sponsored by the New Zealand Business Roundtable, an organisation comprising major business firms committed to contributing to the development of sound public policy for New Zealand. Their significant financial contribution to the tournament means we'll be able to provide awesome food, bar tabs and functions this year.

The tournament will be held from Friday November 28 - Sunday 30 November at the downtown campus of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. There will be four preliminary rounds on the Saturday, one more on Sunday morning, with a break to semis.

The Grand Final will be held on Sunday afternoon in the New Zealand Parliament's historic and beautiful Legislative Council Chamber, just across the road.

The Co-CA's of the tournament will be Christopher Bishop (2 x Worlds octo-finalist, Cambridge IV winner, Oxford IV runner-up, Australs runner-up, 2 x Australs top ten speaker, 3 x Vic IV winner), and Gareth Richards (2 x Worlds octo-finalist, Australs quarter-finalist, 3 x Vic IV winner).

They'll be supported by Ivan ah Sam (Worlds 2009 DCA, Worlds semi-finalist and top 10 speaker, Australs winner and best speaker) and other top judges from around New Zealand and Australia.

Registration will include lunch on Saturday, dinner on Saturday night, a cooked brunch on Sunday, a cocktail reception after the Grand Final, and functions on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.

We are happy to help arrange accommodation for those coming from out of town.

There is no team cap.

Further details to follow soon, but if you need to know more now, please get in touch with us on vicdebating@gmail.com

Cheers
Victoria University of Wellington Debating Society

NTU Model United Nations 2009

This is to extend the following invitation: NTU
Model United Nations 2009

The NTU Debating Society proudly presents another round of the NTU Model United Nations.
Valuing diverse opinions and interests, and to make MUN 2009 a bigger success than ever before, NTU Model UN 2009 is expected to have students from the Asia-Pacific along with undergraduates and tertiary students from Singapore.
NTU MUN 2009 promises learning opportunities, extensive networking sessions, exciting social events and an enriching experience for all its participants.

About Model UN
Model United Nations is a simulated activity of the United Nations setup which educates participants about diplomacy, globalization and effective communication. MUNs have been held world wide under the umbrellas of many renowned Governmental and Non-Governmental Institutions, Universities and Clubs.

Participants are required to exercise skills like public-speaking, research, policy analysis and negotiating; to display a flair for effective note-taking and to have a deep-rooted interest in current affairs.

Participation
There are 5 councils that will be in session at the NTU MUN 2009 - Security Council, General Assembly, Historic Security Council, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the European Union (EU).
The Registration fee per delegate is S$99. For registrations after 24th October 2008, the registration fee will be S$120. The registration fee for Press Corps is S$75.
The registrations are on a first come-first served basis. So register soon to get the council of your choice!
You may also take part in NTUMUN as a part of the Press Corps, which will have 3 different press bodies (BBC, Fox News and Al-Jazeera) and will be reporting on discussions and debates held while the Councils are in session.

Further details and registration forms are available on our website www.ntumun.com

Program Details:
The event will be held over three days from the 6th to the 8th of February 2009 at the Nanyang Executive Center in NTU. All participants will be provided accommodation along with food & beverages during the conference at the venue itself.
The position paper from each delegate needs to be submitted by 10 January 2009 and the briefing of the event will be conducted on 18 January 2009 (further confirmation will be provided).

Further updates will be constantly posted on our website www.ntumun.com
See you there!

Please feel free to contact us with any queries.

Anindya Dutta

Secretary General
NTU Model United Nations 2009
HP# 9817-6494
E-mail: ntumun2009@gmail.com
For further details, please visit our website
http://www.ntumun.com/

World Schools Correction

From WSDC blog

There was an error in the tab at the recent World Schools Championships. Filip Dobranic of Slovenia should have been the EFL Top Speaker.

From CA Aaron Maniam:

We've checked the tab and it is now official that Filip is the top EFL speaker (ranked 43rd overall). There was indeed a software error so while the round 4 scores were included in the team total, they did not get reflected in the individual tab. I'll do my best to work with future adjudication teams to rectify this glitch on future tabs.

Claire will be sending the revised rankings to all the team managers for their info.
Tuna - would it be possible for you to please do up a certificate for Filip, on his new top speaker status, and convey this through Bojana?

Bojana - this was a tabbing error for which I deeply apologise. I would like to get Filip a new award, that he can keep as a reminder of his achievement. I can do this from Singapore and mail it to you. Could you let me know the best address to send the parcel to?

Thanks everyone for your patience,
Aaron

Sydney Mini 2008

The University of Sydney Union is pleased to announce that the Australian British Parliamentary Debating Championships, affectionately know as 'Sydney Mini', will be held this year on the weekend of 22 and 23 November.

The Chief Adjudiator will be former world champion Julia Bowes, and her adjudication core will include Deputy Chief Adjudicator for Cork Worlds 2009, Ivan Ah Sam.

Registration details will be sent out closer to the date of the tournament, but make sure you mark your diaries for the highlight of the 2008 AustralianBP circuit!

All the best,Patrick Wall
Co-convenor, Sydney Mini 2008

Update from WUPID

Below is an e-mail on this year's WUPID in December.

  • Due to the amount of available space (as of current) and the list of universities in the waiting list, the committee has agreed to increase the institutional cap to 4 teams - where all are qualified to break. During the protected registration period for invited institutions, each institution can only register a maximum of 2 teams. The other 1 or 2 additional team will have to be placed in the waiting list.

    The selection of the teams (within the waiting list), will be decided by the committee and suggestions / advices from the adjudication core. Generally, the selection will be on the basis of the institutions / teams contribution to the competitiveness of the entire debating tournament. The committee will also give preference to teams that has supported WUPID last year and opportunities to teams which are not in the top 30. Yet again, competitiveness is the general criteria. And conclusively, the choice is up to the good judgment of the lovely organizers.
    Read the registration process
    here (http://mlysn.wordpress.com/cimb-wupid-2008/registration/). And if you need to contact us, feel free to email yunus@hngsc.com

    Rgds.
    Yunus
    CIMB WUPID 2008

On a related issue you may have seen earlier e-mails and announcements on the adjudication team for WUPID 2008 and that I would be running the tab. I am afraid I've had to pull out of the event. This isn't because of any lack of confidence in the tournament. I think it is a fabulous event and after last year I'm really disappointed not to be going again this time. However my wife and I are expecting our first child in December so I won't be able to travel anywhere around that time (luckily Worlds is only an hour from my house). However it is an excellent event and I would strongly urge you to attend if possible. Colm.