Faculty of Law. Defining tomorrow. Faculty of Law. Debating Competition for Schools in Nelson Mandela Bay

Transcription

1 Faculty of Law Defining tomorrow Faculty of Law Debating Competition for Schools in Nelson Mandela Bay

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3 1. Introduction The Faculty of Law has decided to launch a debating competition for schools as part of its strategic engagement activities. The competition will be launched on 15 March The final round of the competition will be on 11 October Objectives The primary objective of the competition is to introduce Grade 11 learners at an early stage to the art, skills and competencies required for debating, but more so, to expose learners to international law and human rights law. 3. Benefits The Debating Competition will enable learners to: Develop their public speaking skills; Learn and practice the methods of debating; Conduct research to substantiate their arguments; Construct their arguments and communicate these cogently; Improve their language and literacy skills; Gain knowledge on human rights law through StreetLaw training; Develop analytical thinking skills required for the study of law; and Writing skills. 4. Process The following process will be followed: 4.1 Identification of Schools and Representatives Schools will be identified to be invited to participate in the Debating Competition (Executive Dean and Marketing and Corporate relations (MCR); Invitations will be sent to the school principals of the identified schools (Executive Dean); A maximum of twenty schools may participate; All schools who commit to the Debating Competition have to avail one teacher, preferably an English language teacher or Life Skills teacher if possible; The procedures and guidelines for the Debating Competition will be made available at the launch, as well as the timelines of the different phases.

4 4.2. Phases of the Debating Competition The Competition will start with the training phase on 15 March 2013, followed by the preliminary round on 16 August The final round will commence on 11 October Training Workshops All learners receive training on public speaking and methods of debating. Furthermore, all learners will be trained on the theme of the debate, namely Refugee Law. The NMMU Faculty of Law in association with certain experts will provide training to the entire group of prospective participants on public speaking and debating, as well as on Refugee Law and the operation of the United Nations General Assembly, provided by Street Law and academics in the Public Law Department focusing on International Law and International Humanitarian Law. Each learner who attends these workshops will be awarded a certificate of attendance Internal Rounds Only two learners per school will be allowed to represent a school and the school has to submit the names of the learners by the deadline to participate. Schools have to ensure that the names of the participants are sent to the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof Vivienne Lawack. The teams will each receive a set of facts setting out the issue to be debated. The debating teams are assigned countries and schools have to ensure that the teams research their countries and construct their arguments with the assistance of their English and/or Life Skills teachers in light of the given set of facts. The Faculty of Law will provide assistance on the technical aspects of the research required. Final year LLB students who take the International Humanitarian Law module will assist with technical preparations and research. These students are available for 2 visits to the school after which student assistance is voluntary Preliminary Round This will take place on 16 August 2013 at the NMMU. (Further details will be submitted to each team timeously.) The best 4 teams will be selected to proceed to the final round.

5 4.2.4 Final Round This will take place on 11 October At the final round, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law will give an overview of the Debating Competition, a brief description of the participants, procedure followed etc. The structure of the Debating Competition (paragraph 6) will be followed and an announcement of the winners will be made. The winner of the debate will win a trip to Constitutional Hill for the 2 debaters and educators involved (if any). The winning team will be accompanied by a representative of the Faculty of Law. Additional awards will be made for the best opening statement, best caucus speaker and best closing statement, as well as an award for overall best speaker. In addition, media coverage would be arranged to benefit the schools, the learners and the NMMU Faculty of Law. The awards will be formally handed over at the Debating final on 11 October Structure of the Debates The debate is structured using the South African Model United Nations, but adapted to suit this Debating Competition. 1 Teams of 2 are allocated a country which they have to represent. The set of facts reffered to in para and a country is given to all participants at the first workshop so that they can research and prepare for the debate. Each team explains their country s policy on the issue of the debate and reacts to the policies of other countries. The teams then attempt to come to an agreement on what to do about the issue being debated. Each team has to fully understand its country s stance on the issue of the debate and represent it as closely as possible. Each member of the team must address 2 of the following: Opening Statement; First Informal Caucus Statement; Second Informal Caucus Statement; and Closing Statement. The basic structure is as follows: 1 The Faculty of Law is indebted to the excellent work of Education Africa. The Faculty adapted this for the purposes of this Debating Competition, but stayed as aligned as possible, in the hope that in future, the province could participate in this competition once the schools in the province are used to the model.

6 Debate Section Explanation Maximum time Adjudication points Introduction and roll-call The Chief Presiding Officer will introduce the topic of the debate, explain the procedures for the debate and take roll-call of the countries which are present 5 min 0 Opening statements Each member of each team will make a four minute speech on the issue being discussed, outlining his/her country s policy towards the issue at hand and giving possible solutions 4 min for each speech 20 First & Second Informal Caucus Statment Teams will have an opportunity to react to the opening statements of other countries by making formal caucusing statements no longer than one minute each. Each country will be given the opportunity to make two statements 1 min for each speech 10 Formal caucus Voting Teams have 20 mins for discussions and negotiations in which to draw up working documents containing their proposals for solutions of the problem. Working documents will be read to the teams and they will each have to vote on whether these documents should be accepted and implemented. 20 min 0 15 min Closing statements One speaker from each team will give a closing statement explaining why the team voted in the way they did, reacting to the votes of the other teams and discussing the way forward regarding the issues at hand. 2 min for each speech 20 Total 50 The Guidelines for the Debating Competition is attached as Annexure A and the Adjudicators Guidelines is attached as Annexure B.

7 Annexure A: Guidelines for NMMU Faculty of Law Debating Competition 1. Opening Statements An Opening Statement should clearly demonstrate your country s policy towards the issue being debated. The following may assist: Show that you understand your country s position on the issue Indicate whether your country has a particular connection to the issue; Your statement should culminate in your country s proposed solution to the issue; If possible, discuss your country s historical link to the issue if a particular incident which was relevant to it. Do not stray from the topic; Do not spend too much time greeting the audience; Do not exceed the time limit. 2. First & Second Informal Caucus During the Informal Caucuses countries are afforded an opportunity to react to the Opening Statements of other countries by making Formal Caucus Statements of not more than one minute each. Countries will speak in the order announced by the Chief Presiding Officer. These statements should not be prepared as they are meant to be in response to the statements of other countries. The following may assist: Learners should criticise or question the policy of another country or countries, giving clear, informed reasons; Learners may support the policy of another country giving reasons for their support; It may help to further explain your country s proposed solutions; Learners may also respond to criticism levelled at their country by another country. Do not speak simply for the sake of speaking, repeat the same point or become sidetracked and move away from the central issue. Learners may not exceed the time limit.

8 3. Formal Caucus During the Formal Caucus, countries are given 20 minutes to negotiate with each other in an attempt to draft a working document. A working document is a written statement giving some background to the issue being debated and the proposed solution to the issue. All countries then vote on whether to accept these working documents. If a working document is accepted it becomes a resolution. Working documents may be drafted by individual countries or a group of countries. The countries that draft the working documents do not receive extra credit from the adjudicators. The aim is to have only two or three working documents in the debate, representing the general positions and working solutions of different groups of countries. Sample working documents will be given to all participants in the training workshop. During the Formal Caucus, countries who have drafted working documents present then to other countries to get their approval. If other countries sign the working document and so become signatories, they must vote in favour of it during the voting session. If they choose not to sign it they may still vote in favour of it if they wish to. Countries may already start negotiating and exchanging ideas with other countries before the Formal Caucus begins, by passing notes to other countries during the Informal Caucus and asking them to respond. 4. Voting After the Formal Caucus, the various working documents that have been drafted are presented to the General Assembly. Each country will be called upon, in alphabetical order, to vote in whether each working document should be accepted and become a resolution. Voting can be made in three ways, namely Yes, No or Abstain. A Yes means that your country believes the working document should be accepted. If you vote Yes, your country must support most or all of the proposals in the working document and would like to see them implemented and must, therefore, be generally in line with your country s policy A No vote means that your country does not want to see the working document accepted. Your country must be strongly opposed to the proposals in the working document and not want to see them implemented. The proposals must be inconsistent with your country s policy. Remember that if you vote No, yet you have signed the working document, you will be required to explain this in your closing statement.

9 If you vote to Abstain, it means that you are not prepared to support the document, but that you are neither so opposed to it that you want to try and stop it from being passed. An abstention means that your vote does not count. 5. Closing Statements After voting has been completed and the results have been announced, each country will be called upon to give a Closing Statement of not more than two minutes. Your Closing Statement should explain what your country believes the outcome of the General Assembly session has been and what the next step should be. The following may be borne in mind: Explain why your country voted the way it did on one or more of the working documents; State whether or not your country is satisfied with the resolutions passes and those that failed; Discuss whether or not your country feels satisfied that the voting occurred in the way it did; You could say that the resolution should be enforced, or that the General Assembly should reconvene and find an alternative solution or that the General Assembly should reconvene to find a compromise solution to the problem; You could look into the future in terms of your country s attitude and policy towards the issue being debated and the resolution that was passed; Do not introduce an entirely new idea or concept that has not been mentioned at any previous stage of the debate; Do not repeat everything you said in your opening statement, thereby causing the audience to switch off from your address.

10 Annexure B Adjudication Guidelines Presiding Officers (also called Adjudicators) are to use the following guidelines in adjudicating during the Debating Competition: 1. Presentation Presiding Officers shall pay attention to the manner in which teams deliver their speeches. Teams have to look presentable and act diplomatically. They may dress in their respective country s traditional attire or school uniform. This would not affect the decisions made by the Presiding Officers in any way. The speeches must be clear, concise and audible. Presiding Officers are aware that learners come from different social backgrounds and will inevitably have different accents. 2. Participation Presiding Officers should pay special attention to the extent to which the whole team participates. This does not imply that each member of the team must have equal time in presenting their team s position, but evident engagement and team work is essential. The team must demonstrate the ability to work and make quick decisions. 3. Content Statements and arguments should reflect the position, attitude, opinions and approach of the actual country being represented. This means that there should be a reflection by the team of the knowledge of how their specific country will handle certain issues in the UN General Assembly. There should be clear evidence of thorough research of the issues at hand and this should be reflected in the teams position. Statements, observations, opinions etc should address the issue at hand and teams should not digress from the issues. Teams should show some initiative and commitment to come to a consensus on the issue, except if their foreign policies of their respective countries do not permit the making of compromises. It will be to the advantage of teams to come up with constructive recommendations and ideas, based on a thorough knowledge of the subject matter and the abilities and powers of the General Assembly, will count in such teams favour.

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