Thank God there were only two weddings. Had there been four, we would also have had a funeral. Branka Marusic Usually, we like to define debating as the activity that empowers people to speak up, make an argument and try to change the world to the better. At the very least, we are all familiar with the concept of being able to argue any subject on both sides, regardless of our personal taste, and through that experience be able to tolerate other opinions, try and integrate different perspectives into a better version of 'truth' or - at the very least - be able ...

Heidelberg introducing a new category for the German debating championship (or DDM): Public Speaking Champion. Learn more about what Daniel Sommer and his combattants from Debating Club Heidelberg have come up with in the German version of this bit.

When I started my year abroad at the US-American East coast I was really thrilled by the idea that Yale, my new alma mater to be, hosted one of the best debating societies in the world. I dreamt away, driven by my winning the German debating championship in Münster: exciting debates with great guest speakers and members of various secret societies in dreary vaults. I was quickly disappointed when I realized it was not that easy to get a mere impression of how debating is carried out on campus. Two reasons for being disappointed: Firstly, I was not granted admission into ...

First info on the EurOpen released: David Whitehead told Achte Minute details on the tournament held annually in and around Stuttgart. This year, it will be staged from November 6 to 11, with arrivals on 5th. Costs for the schools debating competition will be around 180 Euros for teams from outside the Stuttgart region, including a full weeks accommodation and all transportation for the week. “The price might drop when we find sponsors“, David promised. Fees for the local teams are not fixed yet. VDCH judges are more than welcome, so save the date for judging in Stuttgart in early ...

We are sorry, this article on a local schools' championship is only available in German.

We’re sorry, this article is not available in English. Please read the German version of this article on the adjudication workshop held in Darmstadt from 7 to 8 May hosted by the Association of Debating Societies at Universities (VDCH).

We're sorry, this article is not available in English. Please read the German version of this to learn about a schools tournament in Schloss Wesseling, in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Become a debating champion of the online world, register for the 3rd World Online Debating Championships, or WODC! Debaters from all over the world will compete for the title in summer, 32 teams will be accepted. Reg fees are capped at 100 US-Dollars per team, a team comprises two or more debaters with no maximum. They will debate "anything from pre-nuptial agreements, through European tax law, all the way to denying heavy drinkers liver transplants", as David Crane from Debatewise told Achte Minute. David reports from last year's competition that "the Czech Republic beat New Zealand in the final." He wonders: ...

This is an article on the judge registration for German Nationals (DDM, or Deutsche Debattiermeisterschaft). Please read the German version of it. Hurry up, register for DDM! ...

This is an article on the first phase of registration for German National (DDM, or Deutsche Debattiermeisterschaft). Please read the German version of it to learn more about who's in and who's not - yet. Hurry up, register for DDM! ...

No, you need not know Bengali or Kiswahili to take part in the tournament at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies, a college of the University of London. Maybe it comes in handy, though, on July 16 when the annual SOAS Open will be held at Russell Square in the format of BPS - and of course in English. Convenors Robert Austin and Sheraz Qureshi promise a good preparation for Galway Euros which will be held Galway, Ireland in early August this year. They offer four prelims with seven-minute speeches, break to semis and an ESL final for those ...

Professors in competition with students - go to the Münster Schloss on April 28 to see them debate at 7:30 p.m. in room S8. On the professors' side, it will be Uwe Kanning (psychology), Bernhard Marschall (medical sciences) and Fabian Wittreck (law). From Debattierclub Münster, it is going to be Johanna Mai, Julian Schneider and Paul Zacheus. The audience will decide upon the motion between two suggestions: "Should the federal student support be granted due to grades?" or "Should English be introduced as language of instruction in German universities?" Teresa Widlok / apf / glx

Please read the German version of this article to learn more about how our author saw the Eastern German Championship of mid-April and how he mocks the creativity of some judges when it came to knowing the rules of the format OPD, or open parliamentary debate.

Compulsory education is the matter when Debattierclub Johannes Gutenberg Mainz (DCJG) invites students and professors alike to be witness to a show debate on May 3 at 6:30 p.m. on campus. This is where Natalie Wieseotte, Marc Lenzke and Nicolas Eberle from DCJG are going to meet with professors Margarete Imhof (psychology), Stefan Hirschauer (sociology) and Perikles Simon (sport science). The motion will be "Soll Pippi Langstrumpf in die Schule gehen?", or "Should Pippi Longstocking go to school?". Katharina Tschirner / apf / glx

The weekend around in mid-April could have been named the European weekend of debating. Beside the German Regional Championships, the Dutch Nationals and Lund Open the American College in Greece hosted this year's Athens Open. In addition to the usual high qualitiy debaters that the Balkans have to offer, the tourney featured quite a remarkable number of previously unseen institutions. For once there were various institutions from Paris who showed how this month’s Paris IV is both part and a catalyst of spreading BP debating around Europe. From Germany Aachen and Paderborn ...

Debating on the Batics: The Debating Society of the Mykolas Romeris Universityis going to host this year's MRU IV. The competition, formerly known as the Vilnius Open, will be staged on May 14 and 15. On their homepage, the convenors promise: "Having 8 years of experience organizing fabulous debate competitions we will continue to offer the high quality British Parliamentary debates, well-managed organization and the best of all times in one of the most beautiful capital cities in Europe – Vilnius." Language of debate is English, the format is BPS. The MRU IV offers five prelims with 5-minute ...

East, West and North have debated all day long in Halle, Frankfurt and Osnabrück to select the best debaters at German regional championships. Format of this year's regionals is OPD, or Offene Parlamentarische Debatte (open parliamentary debate). Achte Minute has all the results for you. ...

The GSDC, or Germans - both stands for the German Schools Debating Championship -will be stagedat schools in Stuttgart from June 2 to 5. As Achte Minute reported earlier, university student debaters are more than welcome as judges. Now, the venue of the grand final has been announced: It will be hosted by the Patch High School in Stuttgart-Vaihingen. That school is part of the US-American military facilities and hence de iure located on American soil. This is why special rules apply, as David Whitehead, chair of the Debating Society Germany (DSG), pointed out. In order to have easy access to ...

Paris is very, very beautiful. Plus, it is the political, economic and social center of the French nation. It is de facto impossible to get the full impression in just one weekend. But the convenors of Louisa Leila Zhang’s team helped us get a good first glimpse on the first weekend of April. The about 150 participants of the Paris IV were offered hospitality and French cuisine, impressive technology and the art of partying plus a city tour – and all that in just under 45 hours. The debaters – from the Wordls finalist John Ashbourne from the London School ...

We are very sorry, this article is not yet available in English. Please read the German version to learn more about käsespätzle, org comm wearing dirndl and how Florian Prischl got sun burnt during a debate tournament. ...

On 24 March Debattierclub Aachen had the pleasure to send a small group of debaters to Maastricht. Beforehand the debating society of the University College Maastricht (UCM) invited us to come to the Netherlands. The three teams arrived by early evening and challenged their selves in two debates with our geographical neighbors. The rules were like in a debate in British Parliamentary Style (BPS) with a few modifications: there were only ten minutes for preparation, five minute speeches and there were no questions to the closing speakers allowed. The motions of the two debates were: THW allow parents to choose the sex ...

At the confluence of the rivers Foss and Ouse lies Eboracum, or so was York called under the Roman conquerors. On May 7 this year, it will be stage to the York Open. The one-day competition is promised to be “great for Euros prep, or alternatively a good opportunity for those who would like the chance to speak with an old friend, or former speaking partner”, the convenors told Achte Minute. They offer four prelims with a direct break to final – and seven-minute speeches throughout the day. Chief adjudicator of the York Open is Tom Hosking from Oxford and Dearbhail ...

Wanna combine boat sailing, wine tasting and debating? Then you’re in for the International Debate Camp (IDC) in Porto, Portugal which will be held from July 17 to 24. The motto reads “learning, sharing, competing”. Ary Ferreira Da Cunha from the Sociedade de Debates Universidade do Porto (SdUdP) explains what this stands for: “Learning learning will be fostered not only by the trainings and the training debates, but also by lectures provided by faculty members, and will have emphasis on the theme "empowering citizenship"; sharing will be promoted in every aspect of the debate camp starting from registration where you ...

In a city, already used by Romans to relax from their exhausting attempts to conquer the British isles, an equally relaxing debating tournament was held. The Bath IV 2011 lured teams from cities of the farther vicinity into the almost mediterranean spot near Bristol: Teams from that very Bristol, Cardiff, Oxford, London, Manchester, Mainz and more came to compete against each other. Comfortable pubs and an amazingly warm weather of almost twenty degrees that led every second student of Bath to dress in short trousers and t-shirts were greeting the debaters. Near the university lake with many ducks the Bathonians ...

Sweden has a lot more to offer than cheap furniture and smörrebröd: Debating has found its way up to the North! The Lund Open from April 15 to 17 is the first BPS competition to be held on Swedish soil. The Lund Debating Society managed to gather a team of very renowned debaters from all over the world under the slogan "Debate is in the air!": On board of the Lund Open are Lucinda David as chief adjudicator (CA), her deputies are Dino de Leon, Catherine Murphy and since recently Sam Block. At the end of this year, both Lucinda and ...

Wanting to go to the Galway Euros as an independent judge? Then remember to register for the European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC or Euros) until April 6. Write an e-mail to judges@galwayeudc2011.ie containing your contact details, a CV and any institution you have previously attended. Taking part at Galway Euros will cost you 265 Euros – the same the debaters pay for competing. More information on the registration as an independent judge is available from the Galway Euros homepage. The European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC or Euros) have been held annually since 1999. It was started in Rotterdam where 32 teams ...

Not an April fools’ joke, seriously: On April 1, registration for the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC or Worlds) starts. Be sure to have all your info ready for registration at 10 a.m. sharp Philippine Standard Time, that is +8 GMT, Greenwich Mean Time, since the DLSU Worlds – named after the De La Salle University – will be held in Manila, Philippines in December and January. For debaters in London that means they will have to fill in the registration form at 2 in the morning. But also debaters from other places will have to get up early to ...

VDCH proudly presents: debatING. from Technische Universität Kaiserslautern! The Association of Debating Societies at Universities (VDCH) is growing ever more which makes Marcus Ewald, vice-president of the association, happy: “VDCH is growing into a strong network that covers most universities – debating is becoming more and more renowned in Germany and neighboring countries.” debatING. is member number 71 of VDCH. ...

Debating in a sad wasteland: This year the Cardiff IV again attracted over 100 debaters mainly from Great Britain, but also from the Netherlands (Utrecht, Erasmus) and Vienna to the Welsh capital. 30 teams (plus two swings) if counted correctly competed in four rounds with seven-minute speeches over the title of winning team, best speaker and best ESL speaker. Just like last year, the Cardiff Debating Society offered quite an experience, though less teams registered and the competition was one round shorter. Cardiff itself does not have a lot to offer. Girls are wearing barely nothing on the streets despite cold ...

News from Dresden: because of the vacation time there weren’t enough responses for participation at the Saggsn Masders. That’s why organizer Alexander Labinsky, member of Dresden Debating Union (DDU), announced that the tournament has to be postponed. Alexander assured Achte Minute that the DDU guys are looking for a new date and will invite the debating societies again. We will surely also publish the news here on the magazine in time. vro / tr