Consultations & changes at WSDC Ltd

James Probert, chairperson of the Directors of WSDC Ltd writes;


Dear colleagues and fellow members of the WSDC community,

You will be only too aware that at the conclusion of our AGM in February the Board of Directors pledged to consult the World Schools community on the details of the new membership system introduced by the bye laws adopted at that meeting. This consultation will include both a finalised version of the wording of the amendment to the bye-laws proposing a system of counting votes of members in blocks by country, and a schedule of fees payable by different categories of member.

Recently Andrea Coomber, chair of the board of directors from 2008 to 2009 and again from 2010 onwards, has decided for personal reasons that she is unable to make the level of commitment to WSDC in the future that the role of director requires, and has resigned. I would like to thank her both personally and on behalf of the entire community for her sterling service and hard work up to this point.

At the most recent meeting of the board of directors I was elected chair. At the same meeting I’m delighted to say that Trevor Sather was co-opted onto the board of directors, and following my resignation as chair of the development committee has taken up that challenge too.

There is much work ahead of us, the WSDC community embodied in WSDC Ltd, as we move toward registered charity status and subsequently play an important role in helping and driving the development of the series of annual tournaments, focussing, as agreed at the last AGM, on widening access, in a number of different ways, to the competition. I very much hope that we will be able to build on the work of the board to date, which has sometimes been of necessity slow and steady, and quicken the pace of the organisation’s maturation and growth.

The last meeting of the board of directors agreed to begin as soon as technically practical the consultation on membership fees and voting systems, with a view to implementing the preferred version of both before Dundee. Therefore, in addition to being an update on the changes of personnel on the board of directors and development committee, I would also like this email to serve as an advance notice of the online consultation, which will begin in one week, on 6 July 2011, and last for two weeks, until 20 July 2011. Instructions for taking part will be sent out in due course.

I look forward to as many of you as possible participating in the forums, and to a bright future for WSDC as the new and exciting measures necessary for our growth and development are put into place.

Best wishes to you all,

James

James Probert,

Chair, WSDC Ltd.

Vote now!!!

Hello everyone.

As you know -I hope- there is a postal ballot as to whether WSDC should abolish the "x+1 rule" which prohibits former WSDC debaters from judging at the WSDC championship immediately following the one in which they debated as school students. That subsequent championship can occur any time between 6-18 months after the championship at which they debated. Currently, they have to wait until the championship after that, hence the name "x plus 1."

This issue was discussed at length in the adjudication working group, the emails of which you can still read if you subscribe to the topica mailing lists and search through the group archive. As a result of a series of motions proposed by South Africa and seconded by Greece, a postal ballot has been convened so that we can resolve the issue one way or the other before the next WSDC Championship at Dundee in August 2011.

The ballot closes on 21 June 2011, which means at midnight on 21 June 2011 in your nation (midnight being just before 22 June begins!) Ballots are to be sent to our trusty secretary Hayah Eichler at hayah.eichler@gmail.com

Some nations have already voted. The Executive Committee thanks them for doing so and acknowledges receipt of their ballots. However, a large number has not voted. As at this morning the nations from which Hayah had NOT received ballots were:

Argentina
Bangladesh
Bermuda
Botswana
Chile
Indonesia
Ireland
Japan
Mongolia
Namibia
Peru
Qatar
Sweden
USA

I apologise if some of you have in fact sent Hayah your ballot in the meantime, but for those of you who haven't, I do invite you to have your say and cast your vote. We will welcome your ballot whether you wish to say "yes" or "no" or "abstain". We value your contribution to the decision-making process.

If you have lost or have not received the ballot papers please contact Hayah at the address above and she will only be too happy to send ballots and accompanying explanatory documents to you. If you are not your nation's delegate but you know who is, contact them and encourage them to vote.

Thanks for reading this. And...VOTE NOW!!!

Kind regards,

Claire Ryan
Chairperson
WSDC Executive Committee

PREPARED MOTIONS FOR WORLD SCHOOLS DEBATING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2011 IN DUNDEE

The WSDC Motions Committee is pleased to announce the following prepared motions for the 2011 Championships.

Round 1
This House would offer dictators immunity in return for leaving power

Round 3
This House believes that Universal Primary Education is a misallocation of resources for the developing world

Round 5
This House would legalise the sale of human organs

Round 7
This House believes that women can only achieve equality under a secular system of government

The Grand Final
This House believes that autocracy is doomed in the age of Facebook

All other motions will be announced one hour before the debates.

The Motions Committee (elected at WSDC 2010)
Mehvesh Mumtaz Ahmed (Pakistan/Hong Kong)
Christopher Bishop (New Zealand)
Simon Quinn (chair) (Australia)
Thepparith (TJ) Senamngern (Thailand)
Eva Spoor (Netherlands)
Cameron Wyllie (Scotland)

The Chief Adjudicators
Beth James (Wales)
Andrew Marshall (Australia/England)

For further information about the World Schools Debating Championships 2011 click here

To see Newsletters 1 & 2 from the WSDC 2011 organising committee,click here

For information about the postal ballot closing on 21 June 2011, email the WSDC Tournament Executive Secretary here