The general assembly of VDCH (Verband der Debattierclubs an Hochschulen), the umbrella organisation of over 70 german-speaking debating clubs at universities, has elected a new executive board on August 31. Florian Umscheid (Berlin/Bamberg) was elected president by the representatives; vice presidents are Tobias Kube (Marburg), Jennifer Holm (Heidelberg) and Alexander Labinsky (Dresden).   The Achte Minute congratulates the new board and wishes them best of success for their term of office! kem

This article is not available in English. Please read the German version to learn about which teams, free speakers and adjudicators made it to octos at the Deutsche Debattiermeisterschaft (DDM), or German Championship in Heidelberg. ...

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

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

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. ...

News from the wild wild East: the Saxons want to find their debating master. That’s the reason why organizer Alexander Labinsky is inviting members of selected debating societies from 2 to 3 April to the "Saggsn Masders" (Saxony Championships) in Dresden in the name of Dresden Debating Union (DDU). The tournament will be held in the format of the Open Parliamentary Debate (OPD). There are three preliminary rounds, semis and the final scheduled, the time limit for every speech is seven minutes in all rounds. The participation fee is 7,50 Euro and contains snacks and drinks during the whole tournament and the ...

Again it’s Tuesday night. Time for a bit of debating at Dresden Debating Union (DDU). Today the "Crosstalk" is scheduled, like one could read in the announcement of the weekly newsletter. "Crosstalk" means that only two speakers compete against each other. Each one of them may speak three and a half minutes for two times. At the end of the evening there is a winner, who could defend himself successfully in all the preliminary rounds. Like every week, the motions are important for lively debates. In opposite to the usual debates, this time the motions were drawn. Afterwards the speakers had ...

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

Pubs, comedians and potato salad: These things and even more were provided during the debating workshop of Debattiergesellschaft Jena (DGJ) from 12 till 14 November. Originally thought of as an internal event, the non-competitive debaters’ meeting did not only attract speakers from DGJ but also especially debating novices from other clubs like Dresden, Magdeburg and Munich. In a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere the debates were held in the established formats Open Parliamentary Debate (OPD) and British Parliamentary Style (BPS) but also in Wartburg style. Some speakers even tried to discuss under the rules of Disputation. It was very particular for this ...