Dear Members, Friends, and Partners in Debating,

SAID was involved in 4 local debate education programmes in Singapore in the months of March and April 2007. Below are the details of these 4 Singaporean events:

a) Singapore Ministry of Education Debate Across the Curriculum (DAC) Workshop (12th & 13th Mar)

Jointly organised by the Singapore Ministry of Education and SAID on 12th and 13th March 2007, the first-ever Debate Across the Curriculum (DAC) Workshop was attended by 70 teachers in Singapore. This pedagogy workshop was conducted by two world renowned debate educators, Dr Charles “Tuna” Snider, from Vermont University, USA, and Ms Bojana Skrt, from ZIP-Pro et Contra, Institute of Culture of Dialogue, Slovenia.

Held at Raffles Junior College, the workshop was aimed at sharing with teachers how best debating could be usefully employed to enhance active, self-directed learning among students, collectively, in a cooperative and competitive environment. Highly positive responses from the 70 teachers during the DAC workshop had encouraged plans to bring Dr Charles “Tuna” Snider and Ms Bojana Skrt back again to Singapore in December 2007 to conduct another longer, more comprehensive DAC course for our local teachers. SAID looks forward to contributing to this ground-breaking project again at the end of this year.

While in Singapore, Dr Charles “Tuna” Snider and Ms Bojana Skrt were hosted at the home of Ms Cheong En Min, 1st Vice-President of SAID. SAID also organised a series of debate-related events, over two days, for both of them to get a flavour of the debating scene in our local schools, as well as for them to pass on their invaluable advice and teaching points to teachers and students. They were involved in:

1. Giving a Public Speaking Workshop at Methodist Girls’ School to 200 students on 20th March 2007;

2. Debating and Adjudicating in an Exhibition Debate on “Banning of cosmetic surgery” against debaters from
Temasek Secondary School on 20rh March 2007.;

3. Debating and Adjudicating in an Exhibition Debate on “Negotiating with terrorists” at Raffles Junior College
against the Singapore World Schools National Team on 21st March 2007;

4. Debating and Adjudicating in an Exhibition Debate on “Single-gender schools” against debaters from
Chestnut Drive Secondary School on 21st March 2007; and

5. A Meet & Teach Session with 4 SAID under-10 kids at Trellis Towers,Toa Payoh, on 21st March 2007.

SAID would like to thank Mrs Lim Lai Cheng, Evelyn, Cara, Chitra, Inderjit and Patricia from the Languages & Literature Branch, Curriculum Planning & Development Division, Singapore Ministry of Education for driving the DAC initiative.

Together, we hope to work towards the proliferation of debating as an integral teaching tool in Singapore schools.

b) SAID-Kyushu University Debate Education Programme (20th March to 2nd April 2007)

5 Japanese debaters from Kyushu University Debating Section, Akira. Naomi, Hiroki, Tomi and Rumiko, were in Singapore for 14 days, from 20th March to 2nd April 2007, to better their English and to improve their debating skills. They are the juniors of Hiroshi and Masaki who came to take similar debate lessons from Loke Wing Fatt last year.

Akira. Naomi, Hiroki, Tomi and Rumiko were literally “home tutored” daily at Loke Wing Fatt’s home on how they could be better thinkers and debaters. They were also given daily opportunities to engage in joint debate training sessions with local debaters ranging from primary and secondary school students to experienced adult debaters affiliated with SAID.

To see the real Singapore and to interact with real Singaporeans, the 5 Japanese debaters stayed at the quirky and hip lodge called Betel Box BackPackers’ Inn, which is situated in one of the most colourful entertainment districts of Singapore known as Joo Chiat. No doubt they had many a day of wine, learning and roses there!

c) SAID Primary School Debate Initiative (March & April 2007 )

At the instigation of Mrs Lor Bee Kheng, an enterprising Singaporean mother who found SAID on the Internet and requested for our help to teach her son debating, Loke Wing Fatt initiated a primary school debate programme for boys who are below the age of 10 years at a private home at Trellis Towers, Toa Payoh. 3 boys are now in the programme, which commenced on 1st March 2007. We meet once a week for 1.5 hours of debate classes.

All 3 boys, Jun Heng, Wei Hao and Kok Ann, are responding well to the demands of debating and are enjoying the experience. Teaching them debating reminds me of the famous line “The Child is the Father of the Man” by the English poet, William Wordsworth. We hope to expand the group to include as more children, so they could teach us how to be proper men and women, in the coming months.

d) Methodist Girls’ School (MGS) Public Speaking Contest (19th April 2007)

The Methodist Girls’ School Public Speaking Contest was held on 19th April 2007. Founded in 1887, Methodist Girls’ School is a prestigious, centenarian girls’ school famed for producing strong-minded and well-rounded individuals in Singapore. At the event, 12 contestants aged between 13 to 16 competed, in accordance to the Plain English Speaking Association (PESA) rules and regulations. Women issues dominated the themes of most speakers. In the end, a pair of sisters, Ms Jessica Lee and Ms Hannah Lee, won the top honours fro the Lower and Upper Secondary School Categories.

SAID would like to thank Mrs Diana Goh, Vice-Principal, Mrs Beatrice Leong, Head of Language Arts, and Teachers — Ms Chuah Cheng Kim and Ms Monica Bong– of Methodist Girls’ School for allowing Ms Cheong En Min and Loke Wing Fatt the privilege of judging at the event. It was like watching a firework display, being surprised and awed all the time!

Attached are selected pictures of the above events for your viewing, please.

Thank you for reading.

Loke Wing Fatt
President
Society for Associated Inter-Tertiary Debaters (SAID)
Singapore

At_Loke_Wing_Fatt__home_with_Kyushu_Debaters

At_Rafflies_Junior_College_debating_with_the_Singapore_National

At_Temasek_Sec_School_with_teachers__and_students.jpg

Kyushu_Debaters_receiving_good_luck_money_from_parents_of_SAID_KIDS_parents

Kyushu_Debaters_with_Debaters_from_St_Patrick_Boys_School

Kyushu_Debaters_with_Debaters_from_Tampines_Junior_College

Lee_Sisters,_Winners_of_the_MGS_Public_Speaking_Contest

Meeting_the_SAID_under_10_kids_at_Trellis_Towers

With_teachers_of_Chestnut_Drive_Sec_School

Dear Members, Friends, and Partners in Debating,

SAID was involved in 3 overseas debate education programmes in China in the months of February and March 2007. Below are the details of these 3 events:

a) Macau University (MU) Debate Workshop (9th to 12th February 2007)

24 members of the Macau University English Club attended a 2.5-day Debate Workshop in February 2007 conducted by Loke Wing Fatt. The university students were introduced to the major varsity debate formats and taught the basics of good debating. On 12th February, an American Parliamentary Style Exhibition Debate was staged by 4 debaters for the student body of Macau University.

SAID would like to thank Mr Si Tou Ieng Kit, Head of the Student Affairs Section, Mr Theo Cheng, Manager at the Student Affairs Section, Mr Alcal Wang Xin, President of the Macau University English Club and all the debaters for making the weekend spent in Macau more profitable than a thousand trips to the local casinos!

b) Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) Debate Education Programmes (2nd to 8th March 2007)

Over a period of 6 days in early March 2007, a series of British Parliamentary (BP) debate education workshops were conducted by Loke Wing Fatt for 60 freshmen, 250 sophomores and 6 professors of the School of English & International Studies (SEIS) at the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).

Providing excellent guidance and facilitation as Co-Trainers were Ms Liang Hong, Debate Coach & Lecturer at the SEIS and her 8 senior debaters from the BFSU Debate Team.

On 6th March 2007, a lunch-time debate workshop was also conducted for over 120 members of the Beijing Language & Culture University English Debating Society (BLCU EDS).

My special thanks to Ms Liang Hong, Dr Jin Limin, Assoc Professor & Deputy Dean of the SEIS, Dr Wu Qing, Asst Dean of the SEIS, and Dr Gong Yan, Assoc Professor & Director of the Canadian Studies Centre for their inimitable hospitality and earnest support for debating at BFSU.

c) Tianjin City Universities American Parliamentary (AP) Style Debate Workshop (9th to 13th March 2007)

In Tianjin, the sister city of Beijing ( about 3 hours away), Hewlens Wong, Anthony Paul and Loke Wing Fatt from SAID conducted a 5-day American Parliamentary (AP) Style Debate Workshop at Nankai University for over 60 university students from Nankai University, Tianjin Foreign Studies University and Tianjin University.

Public lectures on debating cum exhibition debates were also staged for the students and lecturers of these 3 major universities of this famed seaport city of China. The 3 SAID trainers also held a lunch-time exhibition debate at the renowned Tianjin Experiment High School.

We are very grateful to Mr Alvin Wang Xianan, the President of the Nankai University Debating Club, for single-handedly pulling off this joint-varsities event with such flying colours, and for being such an absolute host. Our thanks also to Mr Ma Dongye, Chairperson of the Free Space Foreign Languages Association in Tianjin Foreign Studies University, and Ms Olive Wang Chenchen, Chairperson of the Tianjin University English Club for smooth organisation of our public debate workshops at their respective universities.

We were very impressed by the success of this entirely student-driven joint universities event. The collective desire to promote debating by student leaders from the 3 universities in such an inclusive manner exemplified two key values of all good debate education programmes: Cooperation and Competition.

Attached are selected pictures of the above events for your viewing, please.

Thank you for reading.

Loke Wing Fatt
President
Society for Associated Inter-Tertiary Debaters (SAID)
Singapore

At_the_Tianjin_Experiment_High_School

BFSU_Sophomores__attending_lecture_on_Debating_skills

Core_members_of_the_Free_Space_Foreign_Languages_Association

Exhibition_Debate_by_Macau_U_Debaters_on_12th_Feb

Freshmen_and_Seniors_from_BFSU_at_the_BP_Debate_Workshop

Lecture_&_Exhibition_Debate_at_Nankai_University

Members_of_the_Macau_U_English_Debate_Club

Mr_Wang_Xianan,_Chief_Organiser_of_the_Tianjin_Debate_Workshop

Ms_Liang_Hong_of_BFSU_accepting_a_SAID_Mug

Students_at_the_Joint-_Tianjin_Universities_Debate_Workshop

Students_at_Tianjin_U_practising_how_to_offer_Points_of_Info

Dear Members, Friends, and Associates,

SAID was involved in 2 overseas debate events in the month of December 2006. In January 2007, we held our 4th Annual General Meeting and started 3 debate outreach programmes in secondary schools, in partnership with the Ministry of Education of Singapore. Below are the details of these events:

a) Hong Kong High Schools Debate BP Workshop Series (17th to 27th Dec 2007)

SAID conducted a series of British Parliamentary (BP) Style Debate Workshops at 4 Hong Kong High Schools, namely, Maryknoll Girls’ School, St Paul’s Convent, St Paul Secondary School (Lam Tin), and Po Leung Kuk Centenary Li Shiu Chung Memorial College. Over 100 high school students were taken through a series of public communications games and taught the rudiments of debating using the BP debate format in this project.

We wish to thank the teachers who took time to host us: Mr Lee and Ms Mimi Lau (Maryknoll SS), Mrs Dutta (St Paul SS), Mrs Lui and Ms Lam (St Paul at Lam Tin) and Ms Siu (Po Leung Kuk Centenary Li Shiu Chung Memorial College). Thanks also to the student debater leaders, Robert, Kenneth, Licca, Catherine, Doris, and Sheron for playing key roles in helping us to bring the joy of debating to their schools.

Our SAID members, Ms Calista Lee, Mr Hewlen Wong, Ms Cheong En Min and Mr Loke Wing Fatt also joined debaters from Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Science & Technology Hong Kong and Hong Kong University on 23rd Dec 2007 in a Pre-Worlds Combined Training Session at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Our thanks to Ivy Li for allowing us to take part in this event.

b) World University Debating Championship (WUDC) at University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada (27th Dec 2006 to 4th Jan 2007)

Held in the cool clime of picturesque Vancouver, 336 varsity debate teams, the largest numbers of teams ever from around the world, competed fiercely each day , secure in the knowledge that they would luxuriate in the 5-star hotel comforts of the Sheraton Wall Centre each night. Hewlens Wong and Cheong En Min competed as the non-breaking SAID Team A in this event.

In the Grand Final on 3rd Jan 2007 held at the UBC Chan Concert Hall, Cambridge Team C, Oxford Team D, Queensland Team A and Sydney Team G clashed on the motion “This house believes that economic growth is the solution to Climate Change”. Julia Bowes and Anna Garsia of Sydney Team G were crowned as WUDC 2007 Champions. Jess Prince of Oxford Team A was the Best Individual Speaker of the tournament.

International Islamic University Malaysia Team A was the English as Second Language (ESL) Winner while Tsinghua University China Team A was the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Winner. The best performing Asian team this year was the 21st-ranked Singapore Management University Team B which made it to the Octo-Finals of the Main Competition for the top 32 varsity teams.

Loke Wing Fatt was given the privilege to adjudicate in the Octo and Quarter Finals, as well as the EFL Finals.

SAID would like to Kevin, Teddy, Miranda, Alex, Derek, Tim, Ian Lising and all the old and new debating friends for yet another year of fine and fond memories till we meet again in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2008.

c) 4th Annual General Meeting of SAID (10th Jan 2007)

Our young adult debating society held its 4th Annual General Meeting on 10th Jan 2007 at the Clementi Student Services Centre, Singapore. The following are the elected SAID Executive Committee for 2007:

President : Loke Wing Fatt
1st Vice President : Cheong En Min
2nd Vice President : Bernard Vijayabalan
Secretary : Hewlens Wong
Treasurer : Raffi Ismail
Training & Adjudication Development : Shareen Ng

d) Debate Outreach Programmes in Singapore Secondary Schools (Jan 2007)

SAID, through the auspices of the Singapore Ministry of Education, has started 3 debate progammes at Temasek Secondary School, St. Patrick’s School and Chestnut Drive Secondary School. In the works are projects to involve primary school students in debating as well in the coming months.

Attached are selected pictures of the above events reported above for your viewing, please.

Please visit our website at http://said.d2dsg.com if you would like more information on SAID.

Thank you for reading.

Loke Wing Fatt
President
Society for Associated Inter-Tertiary Debaters (SAID)
Singapore

At_Chinese_University_of_Hong_Kong

Maryknoll_Students_and_Teachers

Po_Leung_Kuk_College_Students

SAID_AGM_on_10th_January_2007

St_Paul_(Lam_Tin)_Students_&_Teachers

St_Paul_Convent_Students_and_Teachers

Worlds_2007_Champions_--Sydney_G

Dear Friends, Members and Associates,

SAID was involved in 3 overseas debate education programmes in the month of November 2006:

a) 1st Thailand National British Parliamentary (BP) Debating Championship 2006, Bangkok, Thailand (9th to 12th Nov)

Held at the beautiful Bang Na Campus of Assumption University, 28 teams from Mahidol University, Khon Kaen University, Thammasart University and Chulalongkorn University took part in this 4-day competition. Heeding the charity-drive theme of the event, “Not Just Talk!”, participants at this debate competition collectively contributed Baht 10,900 to a local poverty-relief NGO, called Human Development Foundation, for the education and welfare support of a designated child-in-need at their Mercy Centre.

In the Grand Final, Mahidol University Team 8, comprising Mr Choorai Perumethi Dirin Dinesh and Mr Phra Chainarong Sangsranoi, won the debate from the Opening Government position, by proposing the motion that ” HIV-positive prisoners should be housed separately”. The Best Speaker of the event was Mr Nunu N. from Chulalongkorn University Team 1.

SAID’s contributions were two-fold; A 5-Hour BP Adjudication Seminar & Test conducted by Loke Wing Fatt for the designated adjudicators on the afternoon of 9th Nov and the provision of 3 external SAID adjudicators, namely, Gloria Liang, Cheong En Min and Loke Wing Fatt, for the entirety of the tournament.

SAID would like to thank Sabiha, Dianna, TJ, Ravi and the rest of the crew at Assumption University for making us very envious for not being born such warm, friendly and caring Thai friends and hosts!

b) International Debate Academy, Slovenia, (IDAS) 2006 (17th to 23rd Nov)

In its 4th year, the International Debate Academy Slovenia (IDAS) 2006 was held in the Slovenian border town of Ormoz. Organised by the World Debate Institute, led by Dr Alfred Charles “Tuna” Snider of the University of Vermont, USA, and Ms Bojana Skrt, Director of Za In Proti, Za Kulturo Dialoga, Slovenia, it attracted 60 university debaters from Europe, Canada, America, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.

Largely sponsored by the European Parliament, and the US Embassy, the event saw the pool of international debaters go through 5 days of arduous daily lectures, tutorials, drill sessions and 9 practise-debates, followed by a 2-day mini-BP tournament. Much socialising was facilitated by 3 social events, namely, Visit to the Ormoz Mayor at the the Ormoz Castle, Country Exhibition Night and Kitsch Night. A two-hour discussion with the US Embassy was also held for all participants at the Academy.

In the Grand Final held at the Ormoz Castle, Team Apathetic Hungarian, comprising Sean Luechtefeld and Elizabeth Berthold from America, won from the Opening Opposition position by opposing the motion “The European Parliament should act to condemn the expansion of nuclear power to generate electricity”. Mr Filip Dobranic from Team What would Judas do? was the Best Speaker of the IDAS 2006. 2 SAID members, Cheong En Min and Hewlens Wong from Team SAIDists were ranked 9th and 10 top speakers of the mini tournament. Loke Wing Fatt taught at the event as a member fo the 9-strong international faculty from USA, Europe, Australia and Asia.

SAID looks forward to next year’s IDAS 2007, hoping for another great gathering of motivated debaters and debater educators in Europe. Additionally, we would like Tuna and Bojana to organise thick, fluffy and festive snowfall in Slovenia, which was missing this year, for our ultimate satisfaction!

c) “THINKING AND SPEAKING A BETTER WORLD”: International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment, Koper, Slovenia ( 24th to 26th Nov)

Jointly organised by Dr Igor Zagar, Educational Research Institute & University of Primorska, Slovenia, Ms Bojana Skrt, Za In Proti, Za Kulturo Dialoga, Slovenia, and Dr Alfred Charles “Tuna” Snider, World Debate Institute, USA, this academic Conference was held over 3 days at the picturesque coastal town of Koper in Slovenia. Over 120 professors, teachers, students and education officials from around the globe attended this event, which was packed solid with 80 papers presented on theme of “Thinking and Speaking a Better World”.

Two papers entitled, “The Asians Debate Format: An Introduction & Evaluation” and “The Role of SAID in Debate Education in Asia” were jointly presented by 3 SAID members, Cheong Eng Min, Hewlens Wong and Loke Wing Fatt on 24th and 26th Nov, respectively.

The Conference was an invaluable opportunity for us to learn and share in an environment of collegiality and camaraderie. For that, we wish to thank Dr Igor and our genial friends, Tuna and Bojana.

Attached are selected pictures of the 3 events reported above for your viewing, please.

Thank you for reading.

Loke Wing Fatt
President
Society for Associated Inter-Tertiary Debaters (SAID)
Singapore

1st_Thai_BP__Nationals_Group__Picture

BP_Adjudication_Seminar_at_the_1st_Thai_BP_Nationals

Discussion_with_US_Embassy_at_IDAS_2006