About UTA Debate Society
The University of Tampere Debate Society is an organization founded in 2010 to allow students to engage on a weekly basis in formal debates. It is supported by the Language Center, also a key figure in founding the society. The UTA Debate Society and the Language Center aim to work together in advancing the study and teaching of debate in the Tampere region.Who Can Join?
The society consists primarily of university students, but we welcome non-students as well. There are no required skills for joining the society. Debate is an activity that in its simplest form can be done without any previous experience, while at the same time giving you an opportunity for perpetual improvement and refinement of your skills. If you're interested, come to the meetings, observe, and take part in debating if you wish to. You'r not required to debate on your first meeting, or indeed ever at all if you'd rather just observe. But if you do decide to do it, it can be a thrilling experience.
University of Helsinki Debating Society has a good introductory article on debating, so if you want to find out more about debate, I recommend you read that. (You don't have to read this in order to come and debate, brief intro will be provided to all new people in the meetings.)
In addition to debating activites, we usually hit the pub after Tuesday meetings to discuss various issues, most not related to debate. So if your looking for a community of self-appointed intellectuals to have a nice conversation with, that's us.
What is Formal Debate?
'Formal' mearly means that there are rules and structure to the debate, i.e. it's not free-for-all yelling and shouting of arguments. In fact, it's quite the contrary. In addition, sides on a debate are randomly chosen so people should not assume that what the speaker argues for is actually what s/he actually believes or advocates for.
We're mainly focusing on WUDC/BP format debate, but we might try other formats too. BP stands for British Parliamentery format, and WUDC means World Universities Debating Championship. WUDC uses BP format so the acronyms are sometimes used interchangeably. Wikipedia has a description of BP format, as does the already mentioned Helsinki Debating Society guide. In the latter case the format is called WUDC. However, none of the above is required knowledge for debating, in fact I encourage you not to get caught up with the nuances of the formats before debating, but the information is here in case you're interested.
When and Where Does the Debating Happen?
Place - Language Center Room E301
Time - At Tuesdays 17.00
Leadership
DirectorsPresident - Pekka Silvennoinen
Vice-President - Jenni Juvonen
Secretary - Pyry Jylhä-Vuorio
Language Center Representatives
Mirja Hämäläinen
Nancy Aalto
Robert Hollingsworth
The society aims for world domination, but at the moment it's still in its infancy and its human resources are limited. If you're interested in doing more than debating, i.e. taking part in crafting the future of the society, drop us an email or come talk to us after a meeting.
