Verbal Battles at the Debate Tournament from 25th to 27th October
International speakers who are never lost for words, critical thinking, deliberating of current issues, perspectives, counter-arguments, dialogue and fight for championship. All this can be found at the debate tournament Turku Open 2013.
Angelos Emmanouilidis and Dimitra Spyratou demonstrated first-class debate arguments at the Tieteen päivät -science festival.
At the end of the week, a group of people who consider the world to be an oasis of fascinating topics and who always have convincing arguments prepared for any topic will gather in Turku.
The Turku Open 2013 debating tournament will be organised by the UTU Debating Club.
–The audience has a chance to admire skilled debates where talent and performance skills are needed to present the speaker’s own views. In addition, to succeed in the tournament, fellow debaters’ arguments have to be followed and conclusive counter-arguments presented, explains the President of the Debate Club Angelos Emmanouilidis and welcomes all people interested to participate in the event.
Thirty-six teams from twenty different debating associations from all over Europe and Asia will participate in the tournament. Six teams from the University of Turku will also pursue the championship.
During two days, the teams will first compete for a position at the finals organised on Saturday evening, and in conclusion the finalists will compete for the championship of the Turku Open 2013. The arguments will be presented in English.
–The topics of debates can be anything from classical topics, such as the acceptability of death penalty to contemporary motions, for example, whether tuition fees should be introduced to Finnish universities or not. In the tournament, the topics are announced only 20 minutes before the debate. In this way, no team can gain advantage just based on preparation, Emmanouilidis emphasises.
The UTU debate Club is a sub-organisation of the Student Union of the University of Turku (TYY). In the club, debating skills can be practiced in an exceptionally international atmosphere as several members come from abroad.
The Turku Open is organized for the first time.
–We anticipated people to be interested, but the number of participants was still a positive surprise. We hope that the tournament will become an annual tradition, says Emmanouilidis.
The qualifying rounds will be organized at Calonia and Educarium at the University of Turku, and the grand final will be held at Saint Catherine’s Church. The entrance is free for public.
More information:
https://www.facebook.com/TurkuOpen2013
Text: Henna Borisoff
Translation: Jenna Sjöholm
Picture: Hanna Oksanen