Danish Debate Association

Online info meeting about the Danish National Team in debate tonight at 17!

If you're interested in hearing more about what it means to be on the national team, how to apply or just want to ask some questions; write an email to [email protected] or DM us here and we'll send you the Zoom link for tonight!

Thank you for today!!!!

Team “at least we look good.” 👯 Two of our board members & participated in today’s mini, and even made it to finals. Swipe to see the motion.

This is something we're extremely excited about.

We are looking more than forward to welcoming 5 young Ukrainian debaters to Copenhagen in April, and will do our best to ensure that they have the best possible experience at our tournament and in Copenhagen in general.

Next up in our collaboration will be a 4 hour debate workshop by our vice-chairperson Jonas No Sjølund on Sunday to ensure that they are ready for the tournament!

Slava Ukraїni! 🇺🇦

When Russia started its full-scale war in Ukraine, we had to put our debate training program on pause, as safety and comfort of our participants go first. Last week, together with our young debaters and their great coach Микита Буров, we decided to continue the training.

Because we are unstoppable! We will keep studying and practicing — below you can read the thoughts of four young people to find out how it's going 👇

📢 Dmytro Palamar, 15 years old, Lviv, currently abroad

👉 [I applied for Re:debate], first of all, because debating develops skills that are important even in your daily life. It’s also a cool experience of working in a team with incredibly interesting personalities. And, of course, a chance to represent Ukraine in Denmark added some motivation.

👉 [When the war started], my desire to develop my skills of persuasion was heightened even more as I seek to effectively convince foreigners (but not only) that russia is a limitless evil.

📢 Anastasiia Kovalchuk, 17 years old, Novi Petrivtsi (Kyiv Region), currently abroad

👉 [When the war started], my vision of the program changed drastically. In the beginning, I was constantly moving (as every time I moved to a “safe” place, the Russian troops tried to invade there) — thus, I didn’t think I would be able to participate in this program at all. But thanks to the well-organized work of the Re:debate team, I could join the education process together with the other participants.

👉 [What I have learned so far] is that no obstacle can stop you from realizing your dream if you really want it — seeing the conditions in which you have managed to organize this program.

📢 Eldar Vozniuk, 16 years old, Zhytomyr Region, currently abroad

👉 [I applied for Re:debate] to meet real debate experts, realize my potential, join the Ukrainian-Danish Youth House community, and strengthen the ties between Ukraine and the Scandinavian countries.

👉 [What I have learned so far]: the most valuable thing was to build on the simple philosophical truth that any conflict can be solved with proper argumentation, and violence is not a solution. Violence should be avoided by the power of culture and words.

👉 [When Ukraine wins], I will come back home, give my father a big hug, and together enjoy a peaceful, warm, Ukrainian day.

📢 Yeva Kravets, 14 years old, Yuzhne (Odesa Region), currently abroad

👉 [When the war started], I really appreciated that the organizers were doing their best to create comfortable conditions to continue the education process as life didn’t stop. I think it was a right decision to go on with the program.

👉 [What I have learned so far] is the ability to express my opinion in a clear way and persuade people.

👉 [When Ukraine wins], I will right away come back to my hometown of Odesa, go to the main square, and hold our blue and yellow flag. Then I will sign up to volunteer to rebuild our country as soon as possible.

We are now continuing our training, and in the end of April, the team of five Ukrainians will represent Ukraine at Nordic Schools Debating Championship 2022 by Danish Debate Association — stay tuned! 🇩🇰

Glory to Ukraine! Slava Ukraїni! 🇺🇦

ANNOUNCEMENT: ONLINE DDA WORKSHOPS FOR DANISH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Hi everyone! We hope that you are all staying safe and healthy during these testing times. Although DDA can’t host tournaments or workshops in person, we have decided to launch an introductory online debating training program for all Danish students… Free of charge!

Are you interested in debating topics such as: Does religion does more harm than good? Has the MeToo movement gone too far? Have some of Trump’s policies actually benefitted the US? Should drugs be legalised? If you’re a Danish high school student and you’re curious about what formal debating is, now is your chance to try it out! We’re launching a 3 lesson online program with classes on the 19/5, 26/5 and the 2/6. You don’t need any prior debating experience and you don’t have to speak perfect English at all. The lessons are a social and productive way to spend the extra spare time you might have given the current situation of limited social activity.

Formal debating will greatly improve your rhetorical skills, your argumentation and spoken English. This is both useful in school - for example in oral exams, but it will also enable you to win any argument with your family or friends. Plus, it looks great on your resume! 😉

The workshop program will introduce you to the format and theory of formal debating and each session will have either exercises or virtual debates so you can try it out for yourself. You will be coached by our own DDA members who are alumni of the Danish National Debate Team or have extensive experience in coaching high school students.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
• The three lessons will be on the Tuesday the 19/5, 26/5 and 2/6 at 17:30-19:30
• Signing up is completely free, but you will have to sign up by sending us a message via Facebook or on our e-mail: [email protected] (at the latest at 23:59 on Sunday the 17th of May)
• Lessons will take place via Discord
• Lessons will take place in English

If you would like more information about what the lessons will be like, what formal debating is or anything else, you are more than welcome to contact us here on Facebook or at [email protected].

Hello everyone.

As some of you might know, the Danish government outlawed conglomerations of over 100 people last night, taking effect Monday, and continuing for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 virus. This came in addition to the closure of all schools, universities and public institutions, including our venue.

In light of this, the Nordic Schools Debating Championship will have to be canceled.

We have been working our absolute hardest to look at alternatives, but haven't been able to come up with anything feasible that makes sense

We are of course very sorry to report this, as we have all been working extremely hard the past five months to make it happen.

We are currently looking into our suitability for potentially released government funding for organizations such as ourselves, which would also have an effect on the amounts we can refund to you.

While we figure out our options and communicate with all of our vendors, we ask for your continued patience as the situation unfolds. We ask that everyone be prepared that we may not be able to give a higher refund than what we have otherwise promised, as some vendors maintain their non-refundable clause, but rest assured that we’re working our hardest to make sure we can.

In the meantime, we will be available if you need any letters or materials to help out with travel insurance claims, and will happily provide them.

Our hearts go out to all those affected.
Love, NSDC OrgCom 2020

*News regarding the COVID-19*
Hi Everyone!

In light of recent developments regarding the COVID-19, amongst other travel bans and bans on big events, we wanted to let you know we are monitoring the situation closely. According to WHO, 15 people in Denmark have been infected. While authorities do expect the number to go up, Danish authorities and health services are prepared and on top of the situation. The Danish authorities have stated that there is no reason to cancel larger events as of the 27th of February.

We will of course follow the situation closely and make sure to take appropriate steps. However, the tournament is currently in no threat of being cancelled.

However, we understand that some teams are currently facing more severe circumstances, or maybe will, if the situation worsens. Right now we wish to enlighten you regarding our cancellation policy, because we wish to be as transparent as possible in the process.

One of the reasons we can offer a relatively cheap tournament and accommodation in the middle of what is otherwise ridiculously high-priced Copenhagen is due to us confirming and paying non-refundable deposits for our orders very early. We first paid our non-refundable deposit to the hostel back in start-December. This hence means that we have already made the payments according to all teams wishes, and we regrettably can only get a limited reimbursement from the Hostel. Furthermore, to the CAs & IAs that have either already received their funding or been promised an amount, we don’t believe it would be fair or constructive for the tournament quality, and for the sake of other participants, to walk out on these promises.

We will be happy to help with providing any necessary or helpful documents or statements for affected teams to receive compensation from their travel insurances, if they are forced to cancel due to the COVID-19.

So, what happens if you are forced to cancel after you have paid: We will immediately cancel the hostel and caterer, to increase the potential reimbursements. However, most costs are non-reimbursable at this point. Therefore, we will be offering a reimbursement of the following:

*only for teams dropping out before march 12th*

For debaters and observers both with and without accomodation: 45%
For judges: 10%

Please note that we structured the financials of the tournament so that all judges are heavily funded by other participants in the tournament to increase the overall quality of feedback and judging.
As a result, the judges reg fee just barely covers the fixed costs for judges.

*After March 11th at 23.59 CET, the full price will be withheld despite cancellation, and hence we will not be able to provide reimbursement for any participants dropping out past this date.

NSDC and the Danish Debate Association is a young non-profit organisation, and we unfortunately don’t have access to funds that we can reimburse teams with beyond the above stated thresholds.

We will of course continue to follow any development, and are committed to complying with WHO and national recommendations and advice, both before and during the tournament.

To summarize: If participants drop out before march 11th, we will be able to cancel all variable costs and provide the above percentage reimbursements. Past march 11th, we will not be able to retrieve the money from our vendors, and hence cannot provide reimbursements.

Our hearts go out to all those affected by the virus.

Love,
OrgCom

The tournament is nearing! We are officially in spring and Nordic Schools Debating Championship 2020 is right around the corner, and the finalised schedule for the event is now available.

But be aware!
The payment deadline is over and if we have been in contact and you have not sent payment confirmation by Tuesday the 3rd of March, unfortunately, you are out of the competition.

We look forward to seeing you all.

Today is Saturday, which means mood for a party. Therefore, we have a little announcement to the judges of NSDC 2020! Friday 17th all judges are invited to “Musen & Elefanten”. We are super excited to get to know you all and show you a bit of our culture and the Danish “hygge”.

Remember: Payment deadline is the 1st of march! :)

Registration deadline for NSDC is TODAY!
With IA application closing soon, and multiple exciting announcements to come, stay tuned Via. NSDC's page !

Have you remembered to sign up?

Any questions can as always be posed either here via messenger or via email at [email protected]