Diplomacy Foundation
About the Tournament
The Foreign Policy Debating Tournament is a new initiative where students will be introduced to an alternative format tackling foreign policy topics, but with the same elements seen in debating competitions.
The debate tournament will use the British Parliament (BP) format. A BP tournament consists of teams of 2 speakers. In one round, there will be 4 teams, meaning there are 8 speakers in total. The 4 teams will be divided into Opening Proposition, Opening Opposition, Closing Proposition, and Closing Opposition. The Proposition teams may also be referred to as the Government teams.
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Illustrative diagram belongs to © 2024 Debate Project. All Rights Reserved. https://debateproject.eu/chapter-4-1-british-parliamentary-bp-debate-format/
Event Schedule
09:30 - 10:00
10:00 - 11:00
11:00 - 12:00
12:00 - 13:00
13:00 - 14:00
14:00 - 15:00
15:00 - 16:00
16:00 - 16:30
16:30 - 17:30
17:30 - 18:00
Registration
Preparation Time
Preliminary Debate (Round 1)
Preliminary Debate (Round 2)
Lunch Break
Preliminary Debate (Round 3)
Policymaking Workshop
Break Announcement and Rest
Final Debate
Awards Ceremony and Closing
Debating Rules and Judging Criteria
The judging criteria will differ from commonly used BP rubrics or guidelines. While one’s rhetoric, structure, and speaking style are crucial for a winning speech, a truly excellent speech at the Tournament will also have academic rigour, backed up with valid and reliable sources, or introducing great critical analyses based on theories and concepts in International Relations.
The judging team will consist of experienced MUNers and debating adjudicators in the UK who will be carefully selected and thoroughly trained to strike this balance.​​
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Update: Preliminary Debates will consist of teams consisting of an Event Participant and a University Debater. This means that every team, e.g. the Opening Proposition will be assisted by a university student during the debate. There will be preparation time alloted before the Preliminary Rounds.
Tournament Themes and Motions
​Motions are topics that students will be debating on for each round. Motions exist within a theme. For instance, the motion “This House Believes That geoengineering is the best way to address climate change” would exist under the theme of “climate change” or “environment”. ​
The four themes of the Tournament, as well as their respective study guides (explanatory document) can be found by clicking on the relevant links. You can also find a list of sample motions, which will resemble the actual one towards the end of each study guide.
