Just a quick update on Week 3 of Free Debate's programme with the Bahr El Ghazal Community Development Association.
We have now divided the group into four teams with a dedicated coach for each team. (The teams are all fiercely competitive and I look forward to seeing my boys wipe the floor with Duncan's team in the first round!)
Next week is Round One of the competition and the topic (selected in consultation with the participants) is "That new migrants wishing to become citizens should be required to pass a language and values test". Given that all the debaters are new migrants, it should be an interesting clash!
If anyone is interested in sitting in on next Sunday's debates (and the training and adjudication that will follow) please contact us. The venue is Victoria University (Footscray Campus, Ballarat Road, Building 'P' at the rear of the campus, across from the sports field) from 2-4pm.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Bahr El Ghazal Debating Programme
Free Debate is running a debating programme with the Bahr El Ghazal Community Development Association.
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:
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.
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