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19 March 2009

Auckland University to bid for Australs 2010

The University of Auckland Debating Society in association with the University of Auckland is pleased to announce our intention to bid for the right to host Australs in 2010.

2010 will mark 25 years since Australs was last held at the University of Auckland. That’s a long time (frankly, we think a little too long), and we’re excited by the opportunity to bring one of the world’s foremost debating tournaments back to New Zealand and the City of Sails.

The Auckland Australs bid team is working hard to put together a comprehensive bid for a fantastic tournament, tentatively scheduled for 1-9 July 2010. The tournament will be held primarily at the University of Auckland Business School’s recently opened Owen G Glenn building, with social events and finals rounds to be held at exciting locations around central Auckland. Additionally we’re hoping to give tournament-goers the opportunity to see more of beautiful New Zealand through organized excursions on the scheduled free day.

We are excited to announce the generous financial and principled support of the University of Auckland, which combined with the additional sponsorship we are securing will ensure we are able to put on a memorable tournament.

Further, we are pleased to announce that Christopher Bishop, formerly of Victoria University of Wellington, will be the Chief Adjudicator for an Auckland Australs in 2010. Chris brings enormous experience to the role and has a comprehensive and distinguished record both as a debater and adjudicator.

On the theme of adjudication, we will be undertaking an open process for the appointment of DCAs. This will involve an initial request for applications from interested persons, followed by a period of consultation with the broader Australs community. We expect to make a further announcement about this within the next week.

Finally, the first version of our bid website is online at www.australs2010.com, and will be significantly updated over the coming months as we lock-in further support and venues for both debating and social events - so be sure to check back often.

We look forward to seeing you all at Monash in July, or failing that at Auckland in 2010!

Glenn Riddell
Bid Convener

Brad Ward
University of Auckland Debating Society President

17 March 2009

First Zimbabwe Debating Championship

Amid grief and tension at the untimely death of Susan Tsvangirai, the wife of the Zimbabwe prime minister, Zimbabwe hosted its first Universities and College Debating Championship from the 9th to the 12th March 2009 in the country’s second city of Bulawayo. The tournament drew participants from the university of Botswana and from 10 Zimbabwe teacher training colleges and universities.

The participating institutions were, the National University of Science and technology, University of Zimbabwe, Africa University, Great Zimbabwe University, Midlands State University, Chinhoyi University of technology, Bindura University of Science Education, Lupane State University, The Zimbabwe Open university, Hillside teachers College, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic and the Bulawayo Polytechnic.

The tournament comprised 16 debate teams and about 50 debaters and adjudicators from across Zimbabwe and Botswana. There were 5 preliminary rounds of debate before the semi-finals and then finals. The tournament run in the British parliamentary format of debating. This tournament comes as a result of growing interest in debating in Africa after the hosting of the first continental championships (PAUDC) this past December in Botswana. Members of the Zimbabwe contingent that was at the Pan-African Debating Championships in December organized the tournament with the support of the Zimbabwean National Youth Development Trust (NYDT) in Bulawayo. Participants from the University of Botswana were invited to help train and adjudicate at the tournament. Motions at this tournament ranged from the Zimbabwean National youth service, genetically modified foods to uplifting sanctions on Zimbabwe.


The University of Zimbabwe from Harare emerged as the winners of this tournament in a final held at the National University of Science and technology. The University of Botswana team comprised of Bruce Ngakile and Anthony Phaladi placed as runners-up. Anthony Phaladi was voted best speaker of the tournament. Trainers at the tournament from Botswana included Justice Motlhabani, Graham Sowa and Tebogo Taylor Mogotsi as an adjudicator.

Other regional debating tournaments are emerging in areas such as West Africa where in October this year Nigeria plans to host the first ever west African championship involving 16 countries in west Africa, these countries includes Mali, Togo, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Niger among many others. Previously only Zambia, Namibia, South Africa and Botswana have been the only African participants at worlds with South Africa dominating continental Africa debating. The Zimbabwe National Debate Tournament has continued to build hope for increased participation from more African countries in the subsequent world Championships

16 March 2009

Assassination of a Pan-African debater‏

We are deeply saddened to report the death of George Paul Oulu (also known as GPO) who was assassinated by unknown assailants. Many readers will remember GPO as a participant at the just recently concluded Pan Africa Universities Debating Championships in Gaborone in December 2008.

GPO died in company of Oscar Kingara, Executive Director of OSCAR Foundation at around 6.30 pm on State House Road. He was shot dead less than 1KM to Kenya's State House where the President of Kenya resides.

Eye witnesses, students from University of Nairobi, who saw the occurrence from the vantage point of their nearby hostels say the killers were 2 men smartly dressed in suits and who did not seem to be in any hurry over their mission. "They accosted them in the traffic jam and shot them point blank" said one eye witness. Their vehicle was blocked by two vehicles - a minibus and a Pajero full of men - and two men walked to their car and shot them through the windows at pointblank range. The vehicles had been trailing them. (Eyewitnesses say that the driver of the minibus was wearing a police uniform.) All the other men were in suits. They also shot another man who was walking by the road (the closest eyewitness) but the bullet went through his leg.

GPO Oulu was a former University of Nairobi student's leader. Since he left university he worked in the area of grass root mobilization and was never known to have any criminal links. Others in the grass root mobilization movement, say they knew him as “a patriotic and law abiding citizen who frowned at social injustices and wished for another Kenya with no impunity”.

There is speculation that this was a politically motivated assassination as the two men were working on very serious allegations of extra judicial killings of more than 6000 men by the government.

Here is an account of one eye witness "I was there in person to witness our activist shot to dead. It was a shocking scenario that will never be erased from my mind. Six bullets in a somebody's head ,reason ...he is a threat to the police extrajudicial findings ,as a witness .Which Kenya do we stay if this happens in public ,after the government spokesman publicly announces that the Oscar foundation are funding Mungiki and an action will be taken to shun it down and indeed it was taken-a harsh one . Meanwhile, the vehicle of the activist was pushed to the university compound after a battle of hot suit between the students and police. The body of the activist was hidden in hall two for a half an hour after students decided to take it to Chiromo mortuary. The policemen intervened and retrieved the body, this is where another student was shot. Otherwise we hope things will change let this end the impunity."

15 March 2009

Australs Pre-Registration Opens Monday

From Facebook:

Dear Australs Community,

Due to a minor technical difficulty, pre-registration will open on Monday 16th March at 12 Noon EST. At that stage a link will become active on our website, www.monashaustrals.com.

For more details on the registration process please visit www.monashaustrals.com/registration.html or contact us at monash.australs.rego@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you.

All the best,

Monash Australs