Please read the German version of this article to learn more on how the Hamburg Debating Society seeks for their club champion. ...

Please read the German version of this article to learn more on how Miriam Hauft experienced the Elbe Open in Magdeburg.

Big names in a relatively small town - learn how Andreas Lazar saw this year's Durham Open and read the German version of this article.

Tübingen made it: A new world record in non-stop debating! The brave debaters are Pauline Leopold, Steffen Jenner (runner-ups to this year's German Debating Championship), Peter Croonenbroeck (German champion 2010), Sebastian Frankenberger (chair of the German party ÖPD), Boris Konrad (world record in competitive memory) and Roman Kremer (candidate for Die Piraten in the German Federal State of Baden-Württemberg). They have been debating 44 hours without a break. Please read the German version of this to learn about the motions and other details.

"Ich bin ein Berliner", "I have a dream" and "Yes we can"! Speech may change the world - but where can you learn that? Of course, in a debate club! The team of show "Sommerzeit" of the Austrian broadcaster ORF with presenter Reinhard "Jesi" Jesionek visited Debattierklub Wien to learn how a debate works and what you can do in a debate club. The presenter joined the debate on the topic "Should all search for extraterrestrial life be stopped immediately?" together with the Viennese debaters and was thus able to experience first hand how a debate club breeds excellent debaters ...

Please read the German version of this article to learn about winners, runner-ups, motions, special awards and to find pics from the black-tie party that the DebatingClub Heidelberg threw during the German Debating Championship, or Deutsche Debattiermeisterschaft (DDM). ...

For teams qualified for semis of the Deutsche Debattiermeisterschaft (DDM), or German Debating Championship. Read here who competed on a sunny Sunday morning for the title of Deutscher Meister. The motion read "Brauchen wir einen europäischen Marshallplan für Nordafrika?", or "Do we need a Marshall Plan for North Africa?". ...

The German Debating Championship is getting more and more exciting. The motion reads "Soll die Wikipedia Weltkulturerbe werden?", or "Should Wikiepedia become World Heritage?". Read here who made it to quarters in Heidelberg: ...

The german weekly, DER SPIEGEL, reports in its online edition on the FLTRP Cup in Beijing, China. Thanks to Michael Shapira the Achte Minute is able to provide the full set of topics debated in Beijing. Michael Shapira wons this year’s World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC or Worlds) at Gaborone, Botswana in the category “English as a Second Language” (ESL) and judged in Beijing. ...

Please read the German version of this article to learn more on how Florian Umscheid saw the ZEIT DEBATTE tournament in Jena.

Streitkultur Tübingen (Simon Lehle, Steffen Jenner and Sarah John) won the final of ZEIT DEBATTE Jena 2011!Simon also was awarded Best Speaker. Please read more on this in the German version of this article. vro / apf ...

The break to finals of the ZEIT DEBATTE Jena is online! Please read the German version of this article to learn who made it to final. vro / apf ...

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 ...

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).

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 ...

We proudly present the winners of this year's German regionals: Heidelberg won the Western German regional. Potsdam won the Eastern German regional. Kiel won the Northern German regional. On the weekend previous to the other regionals, Tübingen won the Southern German regional. Congrats to everyone! In the West, Sven Hirschfeld, Kristina Seebacher and Jennifer Holm from Debating Club Heidelberg defeated Nicolas Eberle, Robert Lehmann and Caroline Moll from Debattierclub Johannes Gutenberg Mainz (DCJG). Free speakers - a characteristic of the format OPD, or open parliamentary debate - were Andrea Gau (DCJG), Martin Thelen (DC Bonn) and Sascha Schenkenberg (DCJG). Andrea was awarded most popular speaker of ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

This weekend, VDCH debaters took part in tournaments in Stuttgart and Leeds. On top of that, our neighbors in the Netherlands have also been competing at a tournament. Three tournaments, three CA teams, three languages. Find all motions of this weekend here. Additionally, we kindly ask you, our much appreciated readers, to do us a favor: Which motion did you find the most interesting, the best to debate, the most exciting? Which one did you think was no good idea? Please do not hesitate to leave your comments below and vote for your favorite motion. ...

Göttingen (Nicolas Friebe and David Lamouroux) won the final of ZEIT DEBATTE Stuttgart 2011! Best Speaker Award goes to Katharina Wagner from Dresden Debating Union. Please read more on this in the German version of this article. ...

Please read the German version of this article to find out who broke to semi-finals at ZEIT DEBATTE Stuttgart! ...

Wet, wet, wet - you must love England, for its weather, its guilty pleasures (deep fried chicken wings, huge burgers, chips and vinegar) and its talkative debaters. That was equally true for this year's Manchester IV in late February. With Ruth Faller (CA Galway Euros) and Sam Block (CA De La Salle Worlds) as motion setters for 80 teams, the Manchester Debating Union did a great job entertaining the debaters with regard to culinary and social needs. Particularly popular were the debate videos they had produced, playing with famous TV shows as "Dragon's Den" or "Glee", Andreas Lazar from Debattierclub ...