The importance of debate for young people
The importance of debate for young people
I'm delighted that the sixth-form competition Debating Matters is coming to the House of Lords - and that young people remind us how much they want to get to grips with understanding the world.
It was a pleasure to be on The Student Inbox, a podcast hosted by two inspirational sixth-formers, Aniruddh Dhadphale and Dylan Shah of Haberdashers’ Boys’ School. We discussed issues including cancel culture and identity politics, and it was fantastic to talk with two such good examples of young, inquisitive individuals who are eager to go out and engage with the world and try to make sense of it. Listen here.
It is students like Dylan and Aniruddh who remind me there is a real appetite among young people to take on challenging ideas - one reason why I love Debating Matters so much.
The Debating Matters competition, the internationally regarded sixth-form debating competition that I helped to found and continue to support, brings me into contact with many more individuals like Dylan and Aniruddh. It is such a joy to watch precisely because, despite what some people might say, it shows us that the next generation is capable of confronting difficult contemporary ideas.
One fantastic aspect of Debating Matters is the way the debate motions explore the issues and controversies of today, like government intervention in healthy lifestyles, repatriation of cultural artefacts, the costs and the benefits of contact sports, and academic freedom in universities. Debater or not, the Debating Matters topic guides are a great way to quickly understand the background of an issue. If you would like to give them a peruse, you can find them in the link below:
I’m also very excited to bring a special edition of Debating Matters to the House of Lords in March, bringing what has been dubbed ‘the UK’s toughest debating competition’ into the heart of Westminster. This is part of the Debating Matters 20 for 20 programme, celebrating 20 years of the competition with 20 events! I’m looking forward to welcoming four schools to debate social egg freezing, university attendance, and online misinformation. Find out more here: