[Call for Participants / Starts May 12] Debate Club

Challenge yourself without pressure! Enjoy debating while honing foundational argumentation and diverse perspectives.

Overview

This peer-teaching workshop is proposed by international students from ToTAL and led by students. Faculty members provide guidance as needed while ensuring smooth facilitation.

The first three “Theory” sessions introduce the basics of debate, its benefits, and the workshop’s structure, followed by an icebreaker game or a debate skill-building activity. Afterward, in the “Debate” sessions, participants will engage in debates on specific topics.

📂 Category	Initiative
📌 Keywords	Debate, Logical Thinking, Public Speaking, Persuasion, Critical Thinking, Diverse Perspectives
🎯 Objectives	– Overcome the fear of public speaking and build confidence in delivering arguments. – Develop logical structuring skills and persuasive argumentation. – Improve clarity and effectiveness in communication. ⚠️ This workshop does not focus on techniques aimed at improving performance in competitive debate.
🌐 Language	English and Japanese sessions will be held on separate days.
👥 Target Participants	Graduate & Undergraduate Students
🗓 Format	6 sessions (2 hours x 3, 1.5 hours x 3, in-person) Recommended: Attend the full series, especially the first session. Single-session participation is also welcome. If you are participating in the Debate Club for credit, please take on the debater’s role for at least one session.
✅ Past & Upcoming Sessions	Theory sessions: #1; Introduction to Debate Tuesday, October 27th, 2026, 18:00-20:00 #2; Strong Argumentation, Rebuttals Tuesday, November 10th, 2026, 18:00-20:00 #3; Persuasive Argumentation, Reading the Room Tuesday, November 17th, 2026, 18:00-20:00 #4; Preparation for Debate Sessions Tuesday, November 24th, 2026, 18:00-20:00 JOINT SESSION WITH TSUTAERU LOUNGE: 17:00-18:00 TUESDAY JUNE 2ND (BEFORE DEBATE!) Debate sessions: #1; Tuesday, December 1st, 2026, 18:00-20:00 #2; Tuesday, December 8th, 2026, 18:00-20:00 #3; Tuesday, December 15th, 2026, 18:00-20:00 Held every semester since FY2023
📍 Venue	S6-309A, South Building 6, 3rd Floor, Ookayama Campus
🌟 Recommended for	– Those who want to enhance logical thinking and persuasive speaking skills. – Those who feel uneasy about public speaking and want to gain confidence in expressing themselves. – Those who want to strengthen their critical thinking through practical debate.
📊 Points	2 points for each session (total 12 points) (Points to be awarded to students enrolled in the courses for credits. Please refer to the syllabus for details.)
🎟️ Capacity	20 participants

Past Debate Topics

• Sustainable production practices should be legally mandatory for global supply chains
• Universities should treat mental health services as equally important as academic services
• Urban greenspaces are more important than expanding transportation infrastructure in modern cities
• Human gene editing should be legally permitted for disease prevention
• The development of AI should be paused until global regulations are in place
• We should invest more in space exploration
• Non-violent criminals should do community service instead of serving prison time

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Facilitators – ToTAL TA Team

TA Alumni

• Akira Miyatani
• Kabir Shahriar
• Magnus Haar-Jørgensen
• Eden St Cyr
• Abdek Abdi
• Marcello Geccele (Founder of Debate Club!)

Past Event Records

Event Report

Contact Faculty

Yuri Matsuzaki
📩 matsuzaki.y.77a9 [at] m.isct.ac.jp