I think this will not be considered offtopic, since it can be useful to some of the v i persons also.
Renuka. Date:30/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/30/stories/2008093060200500.htm Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram The pros, the cons. and everything in between Staff Reporter Debating Matters, a debating contest in schools in the U.K., will be held in India -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Debate is now open to students of Class XI Registration will close on October 10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thiruvananthapuram: Are you a firm believer in the dictum 'much can be said on both sides'? Are you one who is predisposed to arguing things right down to the wire? Are you studying in Class XI? Yes? Read on. 'Debating Matters' a debating competition in schools in the U.K. has now come to India. Pioneered by the Institute of Ideas in the U.K. and supported by Pfizer, Debating Matters seeks to steer students away from indulging in clever word play and encourage them to delve into the nuts and bolts of issues. This debate is now open to students of Class XI in schools in India. Schools can register at the web site www.britishcouncil.org.in/debatingmattersindia . Registration is now on and will close on October 10. The Online Elimination Test is the first level of the competition and the topic for this round is 'The Media Are Responsible for Lowering the Quality of Public Debate.' Each school can register a minimum of four candidates and a maximum of six candidates for the round. The elimination rounds will be held from November 6 to 7 at Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Twelve schools from each region will take part in this round. During this round only two students will actually get to debate the motion. The others in the team can help them prepare and can also participate in the audience questions round. In the regional finals to be held on January 9 and 10, 2009, at Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, six schools from each region will participate. At this level, the schools may be allowed to use all six team members in turns. The national finals - in which the winner and the runners-up from each region will participate - will be held in New Delhi from January 15 to 17, 2009. All schools reaching the national finals will get an opportunity to field all six debaters as three debates are guaranteed. Prior to the actual national final event, the debaters would get to participate in a series of workshops, lectures and presentations delivered by eminent professionals. The U.K. finals will be held in London in July 2009. The national champions of the debate will then get an opportunity to pit their skills against the U.K. champions. Debating Matters, according to information made available by the British Council, Chennai, does not conform to the usual debating norms in Indian schools. Here each two-member school team will prepare to debate one side of the motion and not one for and one against. Each school will be informed in advance which side of the motion they will be on at each stage of the competition. What is more, extensively researched topic guides would be provided to the participants at each stage of the competition. These guides will be mailed three weeks in advance to those schools who qualify at each level. Still debating whether to sign up for all this? You may want to talk to Anu Thampi, Manager Projects (South India) of the British Council, Chennai, on phone 044-42050681 or 09003045807. To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
