So far it's been a phenomenally fun and successful project. We're working with a group of about twenty lively and enthusiastic Sudanese men who are chomping at the bit to debate competitively.
The first week was an information session. Last Sunday was the second of our weekly sessions where we covered speaker roles and the difference between arguments and assertions. We followed the 'basic training' up with a series of 'lightning singles' debates - which the group took to with great passion and humour.
Next week is an 'advanced training' session, where we'll go into a bit more detail about definitions, models and case construction, and then break up into teams and prepare for a practice debate. The practice debate will be on the topic we'll use for the first round of the competition (beginning the next week) so in effect it's a 'full dress rehearsal' for the competition.
The competition will run for three weeks and will be a round robin tournament where all four teams get to debate each other. I'm hoping that the teams will form a close bond with their coach and do additional work between the formal sessions to prepare for the rounds.
All sessions and rounds are run on Sundays, 2-4pm and if you're interested in being involved please contact us.
Free Debate thanks:
- Helen from Western Chances;
- Maureen Ryan of Victoria University for her help with the venue; and
- Lucia, Tom McCarthy, Duncan Kauffman, Matty K, Rollie and Kim.
