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22 May 2009

Ateneo De Manila win 2009 AUDC

Ateneo de Manila (Gica Mangahas, Steph Co and Shiveena Parmanand) won the 2009 Asian Universities Debating Championships.

In the final they defeated Nanyang Technology University.

The motion for the final was "This house believes that emigration of the best and the brightest from poor countries to the first world is beneficial for both types of countries". NTU proposed and Ateneo opposed.

The overall best speaker was Ang Wee Jiaa from the National University of Singapore and Gica Mangahas (Ateneo) was second.

The top teams on the tab were:
National University of Singapore A,
Nanyang A
University of the Philippines Diliman A
Ateneo A
International Islamic University (of Malaysia) A
Ateneo B
Ateneo C

More results to follow as they become available.

Also the general feedback seems to be that it was a very successful tournament. Having been in disarray just a few weeks ago the new committee appear to have really pulled out all the stops and run an excellent tournament. Some of the feedback can be found here. Well done to all involved.

Motions:
Round 1
- This house believes that entertainment awards should not be bestowed on individuals who have committed acts of domestic violence in their private lives
- This house will not allow being labelled a homosexual as grounds for defamation claims
- This house wants politicians convicted of corruption to resign even when the political fallout is minimal

Round 2
- This house would let Iran have its nukes ... if its wants them
- This house thinks that the two state solution is not going to work .. and thinks three states is more like it
- This house wants Obama to lift the embargo on Cuba without any pre-conditions

Round 3
- This house would scrap copyright laws in the internet age
- This house would tax virtual commerce such as in Second Life
- This house believe that genetically modified foods should be embraced without reservation

Round 4
- This house believes that an individual's right to free speech includes his right to defame religions.
- This house believes life is sacred but you can end it if it is yours
- This house would allow people to experiment and experience psychotropic drugs

Round 5
- THBT gay marriages should be left to the courts (ala Iowa) and not referenda (ala California)
- THBT third world nations with large, poor, illiterate populations are right in seeking the stability of technocratic elite-driven governments
- THBT votes in supranational organisations should be assigned on the basis of population and not 'one-nation-one-vote'

Round 6
- This house would commercialise regulated hunting of large fauna to protect them
- This house would subsidise every electric car purchase
- This house would nationalize mineral resources

Round 7
- This house would force beggars, street urchins, and the homeless off the streets
- This house would use convict labour for national projects
- This house believes that child labour should be incorporated as a poverty alleviation mechanism in third world nations

Octo Finals
- This house would make medical insurance mandatory for all citizens
- This house believes that the state should fund faith-based services
- This house believes that the state should finance movies that promote desirable social messages

Quater Finals
- THW not sell arms to or include in military alliances any non-democracies
- THW prioritise ending of bloodshed over the punishment of genocidaires.
- THW violate the sovereignty of states unable to control global mal-contents within their territory

Semi Finals
- THBT the social sanction against nudity is a feudal restraint on our personal choices
- THW allow polygamous unions
- THBT paedophilia can be allowed where an adolescent's parent consents to the relationship

EFL Semi Finals
- THW allow individuals to spoil their good health in their pursuit to look good
- THW allow teenagers to obtain the morning-after pill without parental consent
- THBT vegetarianism is the smarter lifestyle

EFL Final
- This House would not prosecute government staffs who commit torture during the Bush era
- This House believes that the "don't ask don't tell" policy is crucial to national security
- This House would disallow couples with severe genetic disability to give birth to children

Final
- This House believes that the emigration of the best and the brightest from poor countries to the first world profits both countries
- This House feels that the Catholic Church should waive celibacy requirements for its priests
- This House believes that nuclear energy is a bad way to replace fossil fuels

Source: AUDC mailing list & bdnews & the inquier

20 May 2009

Important update from Koc‏

Following up from the announcement on registration, transportation, budget and accomodation Koc have recieved a number of questions about the pre-payment system. Here are some answers to that.

Important Notification on Prepayment Policy

We have received a number of enquiries about the prepayment system we have introduced this year. The prepayment will be 100 EUR per person you wish to attend Worlds 2010 and will be paid in Phase 2 of registration between 6th July and 17 July 2009. If you subsequently do not pay the full amount in Phase 3, you will not receive your 100 EUR back. Similarly, if you register and prepay for 8 people but subsequently send 5, we cannot refund the three unused prepayments and will still expect 290 EUR for the five people you wish to send.

It is worth reiterating why we have introduced the prepayment system. It is to ensure that everyone makes an accurate assessment of how many people they will actually send to Worlds. Last year, registration filled in seven minutes but many institutions just said “3 teams, 2 judges” and then did not send that number of teams. This meant that teams on the waiting list had to buy flights much later and thus paid far more.

When you register, we will take that as firm interest on your part to send the number of people for whom you register. If you have any queries about any issues with registration, please do not hesitate to contact Hasan Sadık Arik at h.s.arik@kocworlds2010.com.

19 May 2009

Australs 2010 DCA Applicants

From mailing lists

Dear Australasian Debating Community

I am pleased to announce that the following people have applied to be DCAs for Australs 2010 in Auckland. In no particular order:

Christopher Croke
Sharmila Parmanand
Vikram Balasubramanian
Tim Jeffrie
Fiona Prowse
Md. Mizanur Rahman

I would now like to invite people to email me (cjsbishop@gmail.com) with positive or negative comment about any one, some, or all of the above candidates.

Comment will be accepted until June 14, 2009.

When providing comment, please make it clear in what capacity you are doing so e.g on behalf of your debating society, a regional organisation, etc.

I would like to emphasise that all feedback about candidates will be treated in the strictest confidence. Only I will be privy to any information sent.

As announced before, we intend to follow previous practice and select an Adjudication Core that reflects the diverse debating cultures of the many countries that make up the Austral-Asian debating community.

We have no fixed views on how many DCAs should be selected, and welcome comment on that issue too.

Kind regards

Christopher Bishop
Auckland Australs 2010 Prospective Chief Adjudicator

Assumption to host 2010 UADC

Assumption University Thailand has won the bid to host the 2010 United Asian Debating Championships (UADC formally AUDC).

For more info visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AUDC

AUDC renamed UADC

Following a meeting of the AUDC union in EWU The Asian Universities Debating Championships has been renamed the United Asian Debating Championships. Vikram of NTU has been elected as Chair of the new exco.

For more info visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AUDC

18 May 2009

Non-European teams at Euros

We are Oskar A. Avery and Russell A. Haswell and we have the great honour to be the Co-Convenors of the European Universities Debating Championship to be held at the University and Union Society of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK from the 1st to the 5th of August 2009.

We have the great pleasure to be able to announce that we will be accepting registrations from non-European institutions wishing to send non-breaking teams.

We have received several enquiries from teams outside Europe about their eligibility to take part. The constitution and Chair of EUDC council confirm that this is both permitted and precedented at recent EUDCs as a matter of course where spare capacity has existed. They will not, of course, be able to break in either the Open break or the ESL break (though we are likely to run a non-European final for non-European teams depending on numbers).

Therefore non-European teams are invited to register for EUDC Newcastle 2009 (1st August 2009 until 5th August 2009) here.
Registration for this will be open until June 1st 2009, the N-1 rule will apply, as for all teams and there is an institutional cap of 6.

Dates
1st August - 5th August

Format
British Parliamentary (worlds style)
8 Rounds, breaking to Quarter Finals and English as a Second Language (ESL) Quarter Finals, plus probable non-european finals (depending on numbers).
7 Minute speeches

Adjudication / Tabbing
Chief Adjudicator Sam Block (EUDC 2007 Champion)
Deputy Chief Adjudicator / Tabmaster Bob Nimmo (WUDC 2007 Finalist)
Deputy Chief Adjudicators: Alex Ward (Newcastle Debating founder & multiple IV winner) James Dray (WUDC 2009 & EUDC 2008 Champion) Leela Koenig (WUDC 2009 ESL best speaker) Uve Poom (EUDC 2007 ESL Champion)

Accommodation / Food
Single rooms in University accomodation for 5 nights
Breakfast, lunch and evening meal provided.
Kosher, Halal, Vegan and allergies catered for.

Final
The Finals (both Open and ESL) will be held in the Auditorium 1 at the Sage Music Centre Gateshead. It has the best acoustics in the world and is Europe's newest opera house.

Cost per Head
Accommodated £221.25 Non-Accommodation £154.88

More details may be found at our facebook group or our minisite at www.unionsociety.co.uk/eudc09

Or you can contact us at eudc.union@... or find us on facebook yourself, you can also call me on +44 79 0069 8116 (Though Please only 10:00 to 22:00 UTC).

Yours,
Russell & Oskar