The annual Debating Matters Competition, which took place on 15 May 2023 is a project of the Battle Of Ideas Charity and hosted by the University Of Europe, Applied Sciences, Berlin. The competition is aimed at Upper School Students and all the competitors came from 11 Berlin Gymnasiums. The NMS team of debaters which consisted of Yara grade 9, Siri and Trisha Grade 10 and Yaje , Lydia & Segey Grade 11, convincingly defended our title of‘‘Debating Matters ‘champions. The students were in teams of two and had to win their individual debates to progress into the next round. Each team had to debate different motions ranging from billionaire ownership of media companies, contact sports, surrogacy laws in Germany and the final debate which was on cancel culture and its effects on free speech. The students delivered speeches on their topic and had to answer questions from the judges, the opposition and the audience. Our students who had diligently prepared themselves were able to defend their positions with sound arguments as well as strategically dismantle the arguments of the opposition.
They did so with ease and confidence and with the aplomb of seasoned debaters. In addition, Lydia and Sergey won commendations for their participation in the debates as members of the audience.
The students received a lot of positive feedback from the judges on their preparation, the breadth and depth of their arguments and their effective debating skills. The students are worthy winners and the entire team which consisted of students who provided moral support, acquitted themselves well and are fantastic ambassadors for our school. As well as winning several prizes the school was awarded a year’s subscription to the
World and Press English Language Newspaper. The students are, rightly, very proud of themselves, as are we the school community.
CONGRATULATIONS
Y. McCabe - MUN Coordinator