Phil Speaks 2010

The Phil are pleased to announce this year’s 2009/2010 Phil Speaks debating initiative and with it, a new blog!

Head over to philspeaks325.wordpress.com for information regarding this year’s competition.

Phil Speaks Showcase Debate For TAP Shadow Day

On Tuesday the 10th of February, there will be a special showcase debate held in the Graduates’ Memorial Building (GMB), Trinity College Dublin.This debate is a part of the ongoing partnership between AIB Phil Speaks and Trinity Access Programme (TAP). The motion is “That This House Believes that the Rise of Technology has Caused an Intellectual Deficit”.

Admittance is open to all those attending the TAP Shadow Day, and a number of students from the ‘Bridge to College’ programme.

The debaters who will be taking part range from Worlds Quarter-Finalists to Phil Freshers, all of whom are accomplished Chamber Speakers.

Every student in attendance will be given a copy of the latest edition of the AIB Phil Speaks Debating and Public Speaking Manual, as we urge them to get involveld in Debating and take part in the AIB Phil Speaks Debating Initiative.

Dublin Competitive Rounds

The Competitive Rounds of the AIB Phil Speaks Debating Initiative will be held on 24th and 25fth of February in the Graduates’ Memorial Building (GMB), Trinity College Dublin.

The Day will be divided into two halves with students competing in an Impromptu round and British Parliamentary Debating round during the course of both the morning and afternoon.

There will be an extensive judging pool available on both days which will include Worlds Quarter-Finalists as well as Irish Times Finalists.

The competitve rounds are an excellent oppertunity for students to show off the skills which they learnt at the AIB Phil Workshops, and we look forward to seeing Junior and Senior debaters alike battling it out for a top spot in the Semi-Finals!

Dublin Workshop

The Dublin Workshop was held on the 11th of November in the GMB. Secondary school students from all years took over every room in the GMB to learn from the Phil the art of debating and public speaking. During the course of the morning classes students discussed a wide range of topics for Impromptu including Trinity College, the Green Movement, and Sarah Palin. Later, during the afternoon they tackled the more competitive side of oratory with a class in British Parliamentary Debating and even took part in a showcase debate of their own. The motion for this debate was “This House Would Allow Parents to Genetically Engineer their Children“, the students displayed remarkable skill in demonstrating their debating abilities.

We would ecourage all those in attendance, and indded anyone else interested to apply for the Competitive Rounds of Phil Speaks. Applications can be made by emailing schools@tcdphil.com between the 1st and 23rd of January.

Congratulations to Phil Speaks Finalist (323rd Session)

The Phil Speaks would like former Phil Speaks finalists Andrew Lin and Shauna Maguire who won the Novice Final at the Cork Intervarsity Debating Competition.

Shauna and Andrew have been making the most of their Phil Speaks training and will be further put to the test when they represent the University Philosophical Society at Worlds.

We wish them both the best of luck!

Cork Phil Speaks Workshop

The workshop will run from 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock, on Saturday 13th of December with lunch provided, and will be thought by members of the Council of the University Philosophical Society. It will be held in the Boole in University College Cork (U.C.C.).

Students will be given a debating pack which includes the Phil Speaks “Public Speaking and Debating Manual” to assist them as they learn the art of public speaking. The forms of public speaking which will be covered in the workshops are Impromptu and British Parliamentary Debating.

For answers to any queries regarding the regional workshops please email schools@tcdphil.com

Dublin Phil Speaks Workshop

We are delighted to announce that the Dublin Phil Speaks workshop will be held on 11th of November in the Graduates’ Memmorial Building, Trinity College Dublin.

The workshop will run from 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock, with lunch provided, and will be thought by the Council of the University Philosophical Society.

Students will be given a debating pack which includes the Phil Speaks “Public Speaking and Debating Manual” to assist them as they learn the art of public speaking. The forms of public speaking which will be covered in the workshops are Impromptu and British Parliamentary Debating.

07-08 Phil Speaks winner writes about his prize of a trip to Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a city of extremes, a melting pot of the most diverse cultures. The Hong Kongers seem to have adopted our (the Western) culture and way of life perfectly, indeed they have done this a bit too well, a bit too zealous. When one enters some of the glossy and hyper fashionable shops that are to be found in shopping malls, huge as airport terminals, one may have the impression that the reality one is confronted with is an imitation of an ideal reality that we usually know from Hollywood movies only, and that we would never expect somewhere actually to exist. On the other hand many things are quite strange for us and part of a contrasting culture. It starts with such simple things as food. Chopsticks are very different from forks or knives, there is no question about that. And has anybody in Europe ever eaten jellyfish? Not that it is that spectacular, you only have to overcome a feeling of disgust, after that you get a jellyish texture with the taste of marinade. Even banal things as a drink mixed from coffee and tea would never come to our minds, yet I was amazed by that flavour. And those are only tiny aspects of an imense picture.

Of course the skyscrapers are unfamiliar, particularly when you find a temple beside them, or get to know that they are all built according to feng shui rules (there is no visible harmony, but you surely get some good vibrations, even during a financial crisis…). For people who are enthusiastic about architecture like me, they are a wonderful experience – not to mention the skyline at night which is just spectacular.

A little anecdote may illustrate how strange the city appeared to us from time to time: when we first walked along a big road, I thought it was starting to rain, but I was quickly assured, that those many drops were just condensated water coming out of the myriads of air conditioners on every building. This is one of the things that seem totally absurd to us and yet are part of everyday life in Hong Kong.

The people I met in Hong Kong were some of the nicest I had the pleasure to meet in my life. Kind and helpful, they looked after us all the time, no matter how late (or early) it was, always anxious that we enjoyed ourselves, saw something new and spectacular, got to the best shops with the best bargains and could taste something exotic in restaurants or cookshops. There were no better guides imaginable, because their cheerable and enthusiastic way passed on to us.

One of the hightlights of our stay surely was our home visit. Always two of our delegates were assigned to one of the Hong Kongers, with whom we went home (or in my case visited the grandmother) for dinner afterwards. The food was delicious, the family welcomed us heartly (and made us eat a lot) and was very funny. Thus it was a really brilliant opportunity to gain a small insight into how an ordinary Hong Kong family lives. During the evening we also went on a little trip by car and now I know that there are actually people who drive even worse than Southeast Europeans. The only time I had a higher level of adrenaline in Hong Kong was when I went on the so-called Abyss, a ride in the themepark Ocean Park, where you were first transported more than 50 meters above ground level, only to “fall” down with a horrific speed. However, the view we had over the harbour was splendid…

My praise is not limited to the Hong Kongers, the same also applies to my fellow delegates, who integrated me as German fully. Everybody was so nice to everybody else, I have rarely ever experienced such a pleasant atmosphere among a group of people who didn’t know each other before. This is meant as a big compliment to EIL, who chose everybody in the group (except for me…). And of course, our group leader Daire Hickey (ex-President 322nd Session of The Phil) deserves credit for being so relaxed, witty, indeed entertaining, while managing our group and all its smaller and bigger problems elegantly.

As I think that it is impossible to describe our whole programme fully, I’m just going to touch on some of the atractions we visited. We saw the museums of history and of science, we spent a night at a YMCA youth camp, climbed up a mountain from which we got a great view over the city’s skyline, saw a giant Buddha and the monastery it belonged to, sang Karaoke, visited a fisher village and watched pink dolphines at the coast, oh, of course we shopped – quite a lot, for there is a reason why this city is called “The paradise of shopping”. I could go on and on but in Hong Kong I was proven once again that it is a false assumption that you know a place only because you’ve read a lot about it, or because you’ve seen documentaries or photos of it. The sensual aspect and the people make the experience complete.

But Hong Kong also challenged and broadened my mind. “Who lives sees a lot, who travels sees more”, or as Saint Augustine says:”The world is a book, those who do not travel read only one page.” After I’ve been there, I can better understand the people who think that the 21st century will be the Chinese century. Everybody there is committed to the idea of improving his or her position through hard work which was especially remarkable when we visited one of the universities. There is a fierce competition in the education system, only the best go to a university, everyhwere there are ads for tutors, who apparently get very high salaries. And when we visited a school of the YMCA I was literally shocked when I heard that some of the teachers there actually studied in Oxford. Not didactics, but history of the English language or science. This school also had something called a “Science Museum”, where there were exhibits like stuffed animals, astronomic instruments &c. If you compare that with some attitudes to education and work in Europe, or even in “the Western World”, it makes you think. The energy, the creativity, but also the materialism in this city are stunning. Unquestionably there is a whole set of serious problems as well, the environmental pollution is only one of them.

Concluding, I have to say that this trip has shown me the necessity for us to keep up with the process we call globalisation, if we don’t want to drop back irreversibly. At the same time it encouraged me to travel further and to occupy myself with different cultures. I enjoyed the insight into an altogether different cultural sphere and the contact with so many people. For me these were the core aspects of the exchange, creating a deeper understanding between our cultures and promoting friendships so that this comprehension is strengthened and turns into appreciation.

By Roland Roemhildt,
Winner of the National AIB Phil Speaks Debating Initiative,
323rd Session of the University Philosophical Society.

Galway Phil Speaks Workshop

The Phil Speaks Galway workshop will be held on the 17th of November, in the Aula Maxima, N.U.I. Galway.

The workshop will run from 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock, with refreshments provided, and will be thought by the Council of the University Philosophical Society.

Students will be given a debating pack which includes the Phil Speaks “Public Speaking and Debating Manual” to assist them as they learn the art of public speaking. The forms of public speaking which will be covered in the workshops are Impromptu and British Parliamentary Debating.

For answers to any queries regarding the regional workshops please email schools@tcdphil.com

Phil Speaks Launch

At midday on Tuesday the 7th of October Trinity Senator David Norris launched the 2008-2009 AIB Phil Speaks Debating Initiative.

The launch was attended by all the semi-finalists of the 2007/08 competition as well as numerous Trinity students. The Phil was particuarly delighted to see students from the founding year of Phil Speaks (2004) in the audience.

Senator Norris gave an inspiring speech on the art of public speaking before opening the floor to take questions from his young audience.

The Phil is delighted to announce the Phil Speaks Debating Initiative is now officially launched. All schools who have not yet submitted their application form are invited to do so by Friday 17th of October.