Thursday, February 7, 2008

Chaina 2nd IDEA-BFSU British Parliamentary Debate Tournament
















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












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










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