This week, some of the best young minds from 48 countries will focus their attention on Dundee when the city hosts the World Schools Debating Championship. Jack McKeown speaks to the event’s patron, BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor.
The French essayist Joseph Joubert wrote: “It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.” It’s a sentiment the BBC’s Scottish political editor would agree with.
“Debating is a great skill that is often confused with public speaking,” says Brian. “It requires elements of public speaking, but it’s about listening for gaps and weaknesses in your rival’s arguments and pouncing on them with information and facts.
“Debating is really good for kids. It’s good to use the intellect, and it’s good to learn to listen as well as speak.”
The finest young debaters in the world arrive in Dundee this week as the city plays host to the World Schools Debating Championship. Starting on Wednesday, the games will see 400 students aged 14 to 19 put their verbal dukes up for the chance to be crowned world champion.
Brian is the event’s patron and will be chairing the grand final. It will be a return to his home city for the former Dundee High pupil, who was a keen debater during his school days.
“I did a lot of debating at school and was very involved in it,” he explains. “I continued with it to a lesser degree when I was at university in St Andrews.”
He says the skills he picked up have stood him in good stead throughout his career. “The skills required in journalism skills I hope I’ve maintained are very similar. You have to listen to the argument, sift through it for any weaknesses, and ask questions that will probe those weaknesses.”
Of course, debating is also a skill used by the people Brian most commonly reports on politicians. “They use debate skills to try and get the better of one another in Parliament,” he continues.
And of course, they use the same skills to avoid answering questions. “They’ve mastered the art of saying nothing in particular but saying it awfully well. Our job, when that happens, is to say ‘you haven’t answered the question.’ Or, ‘what you’ve said contradicts what you said in an interview, or at the party conference.’ You have to make sure you say it calmly and politely the most effective debaters and interviewers are the ones who gently prod their counterparts.”
So he’s more a fan of the David Frost than the Jeremy Paxman style of interview? He chuckles: “I wouldn’t necessarily say that. Jeremy is very good at forensically unpicking an argument, and you can see a sardonic smile playing on his lips when he picks up on a flaw in what someone’s saying.
“But David Frost is very different. His interviews with Nixon were stunning and he did it by winning Nixon over. Of course, he had 12 days to interview Nixon and the participants in the World Schools Debating Championship will only have three minutes…”
Some of the debates will only give the young verbal jousters an hour of preparation time to get to grips with the nitty gritty of the subject. Others have already been published and the canny candidates will no doubt already have amassed encyclopaedic quantities of pertinent facts and figures.
Among the motions already announced are: This House would offer dictators immunity in return for leaving power; This House would legalise the sale of human organs; and This House believes that women can only achieve equality under a secular system of government.
Continued…
The teams who win through to the grand final will be arguing whether autocracy is doomed in the age of Facebook.
The World Schools Debating Championship dates back to 1988 when it was held in Sydney and involved teams from six countries. Since then, it’s grown and grown, and this year’s championship will be contested by teams from 48 nations. Altogether, more than 400 pupils from schools in countries including Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Chile, India, Japan, Kuwait, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand and the United States will be in Dundee for the event.
Team Scotland was selected in April and have been holding regular training sessions. The team members are Calum Worsley and Ruth Cameron from Dollar Academy, Charlie Holmes and Alfie Hinchcliffe from George Heriot’s School and David McCreath from Aberdeen Grammar School. They are coached by Adam McKinlay, a solicitor at Brodies LLP (the event’s main sponsor) and a member of Team Scotland in 2002 and 2003, and Neil Dewar, a former pupil of Dundee High School and a member of the team which won the World Schools Debating Championship for Scotland in 2007.
“Four of the motions we’ll be debating in Dundee have been released beforehand so we’ve spent some of the time at our training sessions discussing these,” said David McCreath. “However, as several of the motions we’ll be debating will be released only an hour before the debate starts, so as well as doing actual debating practice, we’ve all been writing briefing papers on different topics which could come up so we’re properly prepared for any eventuality.
“As a team, we’re getting on really well together and are certainly working towards becoming quite a formidable force. Being a member of the host nation’s team will be a great experience, both competitively and socially and the fact that we’re on home turf is extra motivation to go as far as possible!”
As is always the case with the championship, all debates will be in English. “It’s remarkable that the majority of youngsters involved will be competing using their second or even third language,” Brian reckons. “There will be some remarkably talented young men and women in Dundee over the next few days.”
The Courier’s publisher, D. C. Thomson, are co-sponsors of the event, having designed and printed the tournament brochure. The tournament is supported by a number of other Scottish companies and organisations, including Abertay University, Dundee College, Al-Maktoum College of Further Education, Dundee City Council and Apex Hotels.
The early rounds will take place in all of Dundee’s high schools, as well as Dundee High and Webster’s High in Kirriemuir. Later rounds will be held at landmarks including the RRS Discovery, the Unicorn and the Al-Maktoum Institute. The final will be at the Caird Hall on Thursday, August 25.
It’s estimated the event will boost the Dundee economy by as much as £1 million.
Brian Taylor hails the event’s choice of venue. “Being chosen to host this event is marvellous for Dundee. The city is going through a period of huge renewal right now. The two universities are doing so well and the city continues its redevelopment.
“You’ve got the cultural quarter around Perth Road and of course the Victoria and Albert Museum will provide a massive boost. Dundee has taken its knocks over the years but I think what we’re seeing is the city can recover and flourish without heavy industry.
“I’m back in Dundee very regularly at least every couple of weeks to watch Dundee United, and frequently more often and there’s a growing sense of pride in the city coming from its people.”There are 100 free tickets available for the final at the Caird Hall on Thursday, August 25 at 3pm. Tickets can be collected in person from City Development, 3 City Square, Dundee DD1 3BA or by calling 01382 434428.