What is debating? 

There are different formats of competitive debating, however at the UEA debating union we will be focusing on few of them (mostly British Parliamentary for competitions’ purposes). This format seems complicated at first but that should not scare people who are not familiar with it. What we will be doing while debating British Parliamentary is examining ideas and policies with the aim of persuading people within an organised structure. We will also have training sessions to get people comfortable with this style of debating, the different roles within the format and the most effective ways to make debating speeches. However, those people who are just coming along to work on their public speaking will find a safe and friendly environment to do so as we have a variety of activities such as games, balloon debates and informal debates to help people do that. The bottom line is that we welcome people with different levels of experience, if any. All you need is enthusiasm and an open mind. 

What do we do as a society? 

Weekly Informal Sessions (Time: Mondays, 6 — 8pm, Location: NEWSCI 0.04) 

This society was established to cultivate the debating skills among the university's cohorts. However, this year, we would like to start off with some more casual things. The informal sessions will involve healthy discussions about relevant topics in a less structured fashion. It will also involve activities that help foster public speaking ability. This will include games like Just a Minute (JAM) and balloon debating. Suggestions for activities will be taken on board.

Weekly Formal Sessions (Time: Thursdays, 6 — 8pm, Location: NEWSCI 0.05)

While it is important to provide people with a fun and safe informal environment to practice their public-speaking skills, we do put a lot of emphasis into preparing people to compete and getting a really good sense of the British Parliamentary format of debating. That is why we have weekly training sessions that are heavily focused on getting a grip of the structure of competitive debating. While we will still use a variety of activities, these sessions will be a bit more formal than the general sessions.

Competitions and Inter-Society Events

We plan on holding competitions and inter-society events throughout the year. Details will be provided prior to the events.

Socials

Debating society is hoping to host various socials this year. Suggestions are appreciated.

Committee (2022/23)

President: Soumyajit Saha (soumyajit.saha@uea.ac.uk)

Secretary: James Hawketts (j.hawketts@uea.ac.uk)

Treasurer: Daniel Gilbert (d.gilbert1@uea.ac.uk)

Equality and Diversity: Mohammed Khadim Jawad (m.jawad@uea.ac.uk)

Vice-President: Sebastian Magnago (s.magnago@uea.ac.uk)

First Year Rep: Alex Banks (a.banks@uea.ac.uk)

Please feel free to contact any of us regarding the ongoings in the society, questions you had, or suggestions.