～Kyushu University team won the championship in the 20th Exchange Debate Contest～
“Gestational surrogacy? What’s that?” would be the first reaction from many students. That is the topic high school students are debating in English this year (Cf. HEnDA, All Japan High School English Debate Association; NAFA, National Association of Forensics and Argumentation). At Kyushu University Ito Campus, in a unique “Exchange Debate Contest” in its 20th anniversary tournament, twelve teams from high schools and universities gathered to debate the same topic “Resolved: that the Japanese government should legalize gestational surrogacy” in two preliminary rounds, once on the affirmative and once on the negative; switching sides is a customary educational practice in academic or educational debate.
The four judges voted for the affirmative while the audience vote went for the negative, leading to the 4-1 victory for Kyushu University C. Takeda Nana (Kyushu C) was awarded the best debater prize based on the expert judges’ majority decision.
For more info about debating activities at Kyushu University, contact:
The FLC Debate Education Support Group (debate@flc.kyushu-u.ac.jp)
Please refer to the Kyushu University website for details.
