Debates go online, draw more girls

With travelling out of the picture, female participation has increased dramatically in debate tournaments across the world

The pandemic has forced India’s biggest debate tournaments to go online, and that has had some positive, unexpected spin-offs.

Freed of the hassles of travelling, more girl students are participating in debates than before.

Online debating has also helped create and promote safe spaces in the form of the Asia Queer Open and Gender Minorities debate. These tournaments are, as the name suggests, open to queer and gender minorities debators.

Bengaluru has a vibrant debating society culture, usually attracting students and young professionals between 18 and 22 years of age. The topics range from economics, politics, state to international relations to feminism and philosophy.

“Under normal circumstances, participation from girls was low. One reason was that parents are concerned about safety, given that there are always delays in the tournament,” says Satvik Puti, avid debater.

The history of debating as a male-dominated activity will take some time to correct itself. “In the tournament that I organised recently, we made it mandatory for institutional and non-institutional contingents to have at least 50 per cent women’s representation,” he says.

The tournament he hosted from Bengaluru saw about 50 per cent women participation. The topics ranged from distance learning, self-suffering as a form of resistance and surrender schemes for militants. The motion for the grand finals was ‘This House regrets the use of martial terminology in dealing with Covid-19’.

Online platform

A website called Mixidea (mixidea.org) allows anyone to create a tournament with virtual rooms for debaters.

“There is a common meeting point like the auditorium. After your 15-minute prep time you can join the room where you debate,” says Daniel Monteiro, IT professional who has been debating for four years.

Traditionally, a parliamentary debate comprises teams defending and opposing a proposed motion.

A tournament has multiple teams participating in different rooms after a motion is announced 15 minutes prior to the debate.

While coordinating with teammates was difficult initially, over some weeks, participants were able to overcome the glitches.

Some international tournaments are conducted by integrating video app Zoom and chat app Discord.

“A few prefer Zoom because the video allows you to use theatrical aspects. Sometimes the way you speak can better drive your point home,” he says.

However, many opt out of the video option.

They do not use their cameras at all, preferring to just speak, he says.

Excitement lost

The biggest disadvantage in online debating is that it cuts out all informal interaction and networking, an integral part of tournaments.

“Travelling for these tournaments is about more than the debate itself. It is a great opportunity to meet people and network. Usually, when panellists are adjudicating, members of various teams interact. None of that happens now,” says Daniel.

However, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Online debating has become accessible and affordable.

“Tournaments can be expensive. Registering for one in the same city can cost you about Rs 1,800 and for one outside about Rs 2,500. You also have to factor in travel costs and other expenses,” he says.

Online debating completely cuts out these expenses entirely and even makes participating in international tournaments feasible.

The Australasian Championships have, for example, shifted their tournament online, and are conducting it at a fraction of their normal cost.

Every year the host university is selected for the upcoming year and this year it was to be held at Monash University, Australia, with many from Bengaluru flying at their own cost to take part in it.

Online debating also brings down organisational costs, venue costs and even the number of volunteers needed.

“Generally only established debate societies would conduct tournaments. For smaller institutions and up-and-coming societies, funding was a problem,” Daniel says.

The lockdown has also encouraged collaborations between various debating societies.

“You usually practise with members of your own debate society, which after a point can become less challenging. However, online collaborations have allowed us to practice with debaters across the world. We now have three practice sessions a day, which help us in honing our skills,” he adds. The collaborative efforts have improved inter-society relations, which has resulted in the inception of India Debate Open, the first-ever pan India debate tournament. The first edition was held early this month.

‘Charm of annoying participants gone’

Namita Pandey, convenor of India Debate Open-AP 2020, says the biggest difference is the physical absence of people.

“Running around to collect score sheets, venting out one’s frustration with the other volunteers, and annoying participants by waking them up at 7 am are just things that cannot be replicated in an online tournament,” she says.

Even coordinating decisions between the organising team is rewarding in its own way.

While being able to use the Internet for prep time, which isn’t allowed in physical tournaments, may provide an unfair advantage to teams, Namita says, it is a negligible head start as there is only so much one can google and process within 15 minutes.

Big events coming up

June 6-7: Trinity Open 2020 hosted by Trinity College, Ireland.

June 13-14: Macquarie Open 2020 hosted by Macquarie University, Australia.

June 13-14: NTU Online Debate Open hosted by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

June 20-21: Astana Debate Union Online hosted by Astana EUDC, Kazakhstan.