Meet our
Thursday Debates
Where ?
Uni Mail (Bd du Pont-d'Arve 40), room 5050 (5th floor)
When ?
Every Thursday evening, at 6:15pm
Who ?
Open to everybody : all the faculties, students or not !
No need to register yourself or be a member of the Association.
But what is the
Geneva Debate Club ?
The Geneva Debate Club is a sub-branch of the Club Genevois de Débat, founded in 2022 by Razvan Mihai Grajdieru (former president of the CGD) and Marija Kudriavceva (former president of various debate associations).
Given the success of our Mardis Débat (Tuesday debates) and the lack of places to practice your eloquence in the language of Shakespeare, the Geneva Debate Club was born.
Still in its infancy, its activities are modelled on those of the CGD. In the near future, we'll have the pleasure of offering special formats (such as debates in the form of the English Parliament or the United Nations), English-speaking guests, and many more wonders.
The Club Genevois de Débat would like to thank Razvan and Marija for this initiative, which has strengthened the associative link at the University of Geneva ever since it was created!
How are our debates conducted?
There's no obligation to participate, you can simply observe the debates!
1.
Everyone present can propose their own topics for debate, if they wish. Topics are free: philosophical, political, economic, topical, absurd or just plain funny! There's just one condition: there must be one position FOR and one position AGAINST.
2.
From the list of up to 24 topics, one or two are chosen by a show of hands by all those present in the room (whether debating or not).
3.
All those wishing to debate are assigned a number, and are divided up into topic and position teams in different rooms. Speakers choose neither their topic nor their position (pro/con)!
4.
Each team has 15 minutes to prepare arguments and prepare for the debate.
5.
The PRO team and the CON team play ping pong with each other, alternating speakers: 1st PRO, 1st CON, 2nd PRO, and so on. Each speaker can defend his or her position for a maximum of 3 minutes without being interrupted.
At the end of the speech, the speaker must answer a question put by the opposing team or the rest of the room.
6.
When all the speakers on the first topic have spoken, the rest of the room votes by show of hands to select the most convincing team.
Steps 5 and 6 are repeated for the second debate on the second designated topic.
7.
When the two debates are over, and all the speakers from the four teams have spoken, the judge in the room elects the prize for the best speech.
All speakers are welcome to ask for constructive feedback on their performance from committee members!
8.
To continue the debates in a friendly atmosphere, all the speakers from the different rooms meet at the bar!
An overview of our topics
- Is Barbie a feminist icon ?
