Rifan Ibnu Rahman is IndoDebate's Debater of the Year 2012

Rifan Ibnu Rahman - DOTY 2012

Rifan Ibnu Rahman, who graduated a few months ago from Institut Teknologi Bandung, is the winner of the IndoDebate Debater of the Year title for 2012. This may be no surprise as he led the table since February. In the end, he collected 40 points from achievements that include 5 tournament victories and 2 best speaker awards.

His last stamp was championing the most competitive open tournament in Indonesia, the Founders Trophy, last November. The gap with his nearest rival, Invi Atmanegara from Binus International, was 11 points, showing how the race was not close. Her success in breaking into the knockouts of the 2012 World Universities Peace Invitationational Debate in December gained her points but it was far from enough to oust the leader.

The one thing that may be a miss in his otherwise long list of accolades is the inability to win any of the four major tournaments in Indonesia - IVED, JOVED, ALSA UI and NUEDC - in his undergraduate phase. It will not be a surprise if he decides to return as a postgraduate debater to close that void. His DOTY 2012 prize is a one-year long subcription of Bloomberg Businessweek magazine, which suits well for a business school graduate who is now working for consumer giant Unilever.

The final DOTY 2012 table shows the classic domination of institutions from the Jakarta-Depok-Bandung axis in Indonesian debating. There is only one debater from out of that group in the top 20 while in that same batch there are 6 people from Universitas Indonesia alone. The highest non-Java debater is at #67. This shows that debate proliferation, while it has made gains in quantity and outreach, needs to focus more on improving institutions out of the axis.

It should be noted that many of the top debaters did not originate from the western Java region. Rifan went to high school in Sidoarjo, East Java while the third on the table, Universitas Indonesia's Dennys Kapa, hails from Kupang on Timor island. Their backgrounds did not handicap them. Their hardwork and the supporting environment in their universities made them champions. Click here for the full table.

Top 20 on IndoDebate's Debater of the Year 2012 list are:

1. Rifan Ibnu Rahman (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
2. Invi Atmanegara (Binus International)
3. Dennys Kapa (Universitas Indonesia)
4. Cindy Fransisca (Universitas Atma Jaya)
5. Jaran Walia (Binus International)
6. Dwita Aryani (Universitas Parahyangan)
7. Aryo Febrian (Universitas Bakrie)
8. Sabarudin Adinugroho (Binus University)
9. Rosmiyana (Binus University)
10. Elghafiky Bimardhika (Universitas Indonesia)
11. Jane Revevalin (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
12. Roderick Sibarani (Universitas Indonesia)
13. Aulia Anggita (Universitas Indonesia)
14. Egalita Irfan (Universitas Indonesia)
15. Boby Andika Ruitang (Universitas Indonesia)
16. Fauzan Reza (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
17. Andrew Sadeli (Binus International)
18. Alifia Firliani (Universitas Bakrie)
19. Bramesada Prasastyoga (Universitas Indonesia)
20. Nabila Aghniarizqa (Universitas Gadjah Mada)

WUDC 2013: Full List of Motions

Open

R1: THW create public housing for the poor in wealthy areas
R2:  THBT Japan should acquire nuclear weapons
R3: THW only imprison individuals who pose a direct and continuing threat to society   
R4: THBT international development institutions should not finance natural resource projects in corrupt states
R5: THBT self described progressive males of dominant ethnicities are morally obliged to refrain from taking positions of responsibility where there is a qualified alternative candidate from a historically disadvantaged group who would otherwise receive the post
R6: THW legally permit soldiers to refuse to participate in military actions or missions on the basis of conscience

R7: THBT European Union nations should forgive Greece’s sovereign debt 

R8: THBT countries with booming populations should allocate every adult a single tradable permit to have a child

R9: THW ban political parties and require all candidates for national public office to seek election as independents

POF: THBT universities should never prohibit research or teaching on the ground of sexist, racist or other discriminatory implications

OF: THBT the US should cut off all military aid to Egypt 

QF: THW ban all advertising of consumer goods and services 

SF: THBT the WTO should never allow nations to place export restrictions on food, rare earth metals and other non-oil commodities 

GF: THW not allow religious communities to expel members on the basis of views or actions that contradict doctrinal teachings 

ESL

QF: THBT publicly funded universities should be required to reduce enrolment in degree programs that have statistically poor employment outcomes 

SF: THBT the feminist movement should actively promote norms of stable monogamous relationships

GF: THBT representative democracies with large numbers of foreigners living in their territory should create specific seats to represent them in parliament 

EFL

QF: THBT publicly funded universities should be required to reduce enrolment in degree programs that have statistically poor employment outcomes 

SF: THBT policies that have significant environmental consequences should be subject to a veto by a "supreme court" of independent experts 

GF: TH welcomes the decline of the USA as the sole global superpower 

WUDC 2013: Indonesian Results

The 2013 World Universities Debating Championships had 10 Indonesian teams. Two of them, Universitas Gadjah Mada A and Universitas Atma Jaya A, broke into the EFL quarterfinals. Several Indonesian speakers qualified as ESL, a higher category than EFL, including Reza Aryani (UI A) who was the best among Indonesians. Had she passed the EFL requirement, UI A would have been the tournament's top  EFL team, earning them a spot in the elimination phase. Only those with less than 3 months of living in an English-speaking country during school age or 6 months of studying in an institution where English is the instruction language can qualify as EFL speakers. The ESL threshold is less than 5 years of living in an English-speaking country during school age or studying in institutions where English is the instruction language.

Almost 400 teams or 800 speakers from over 40 countries joined WUDC 2013. The top team on the Open tab scored 24 points while the last breaking pair Monash University B, which eventually became the champions, had 17. The top scoring Indonesian team of all time gathered 16 points in WUDC 2008. The highest ranked Indonesian team ended at #85 in WUDC 1999. The best Indonesian speaker reached #186 also in WUDC 1999. Click here to see Indonesia's WUDC history.

Indonesian Team Standings (UI, Binus Intl, ITB were ESL teams; the rest EFL)
#175 Universitas Indonesia A (Dimas Hokka/Riza Aryani) - 14 points
#179 Binus International A (Invi Atmanegara/Jaran Walia) - 14  points
#185 Universitas Gadjah Mada A (Erwina Salsabila/Novelisa Wirid) - 14 points / EFL quarterfinalists
#187 Universitas Atma Jaya A (Cindy Fransisca/Davin Susanto) - 14 points / EFL quarterfinalists
#257 Universitas Padjadjaran A (Dimas Aditya/Erfan Supradhono) - 12 points
#291 Binus University A (Rosmiyana/Sabarudin Adinugroho) - 11 points
#308 Institut Pertanian Bogor A (Gideon Satria/Devi Fitri Yani) - 11 points
#314 Institut Teknologi Bandung A (Jane Revevalin/Kirana Kania) - 10 points
#330 Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta A (Retno Rahma Safitri/Niki Septy) - 10 points
#383 Universitas Musamus A (Desi Eva Laila/Hastuti Dwi Virgita) - 5 points

Top 10 Indonesian Speakers
1. #338 Riza Aryani (UI A) -- 677
2. #405 Jaran Walia (Binus Intl A) -- 669
3. #405 Cindy Fransisca (Atma A) -- 669
4. #436 Invi Atmanegara (Binus Intl A) -- 667
5. #445 Dimas Hokka (UI A) -- 666
6. #466 Erwina Salsabila (UGM A) -- 663
7. #478 Novelisa Wirid (UGM A) -- 662
8. #478 Dimas Aditya (Unpad A) -- 662
9. #488 M. Erfan Supradhono (Unpad A) -- 661
10. #505 Kirana Kania (ITB A) -- 659
10. #505 Jane Revevalin (ITB A) -- 659

WUDC 2013: Key Results

Champions: #48 University of Monash B (James Beavis & Nita Rao)
Finalists: #2 University of Sydney B (Paul Karp & Dominic Bowes), #6 University of Auckland A (Stephanie Thompson & Ben Milsom), #24 University of Otago A (Alec Dawson & Kieran Bunn)
ESL Winners: #14ESL BRAC University A (Ratib Mortuza Ali & Aaqib Farhan Hossain)
EFL Winners: #5EFL University of Porto A (Ari da Cunha & Tiago Laranjeiro)

Top 10 Speakers
1. Pam Cohn (University of London Union A)
1. Chris Bisset (Monash University A)
3. Catherine Murphy (University of London Union A)
4. Madeline Schultz (Monash University A)
5. Paul Karp (University of Sydney B)
5. Christine Simpson (University College Dublin L&H A)
7. Dominic Bowes (University of Sydney B)
8. Elle Jones (University of Sydney B)
9. Mark Haughton (University College Dublin L&H A)
10. Seb Templeton (Victoria University of Wellington A)
10. Nita Rao (Monash University B)

Top 5 ESL Speakers
1. Martin Kiik (Harvard University C)
2. Arinah Najwa (International Islamic University A)
3. Syed Saddiq (International Islamic University A)
4. Karin Merckens (University of Leiden A)
5. Daan Welling (University of Leiden A)
5. Senna Maatoug (University of Leiden C)
5. Henk van Zullen (University of Groningen A)

Top 5 EFL Speakers
1. Ary da Cunha (University of Porto A)
2. Viktor Prlja (University of Belgrade A)
3. Rodolfo Mendez (Monterrey Institute of Technology A)
4. Radu Tiganas (University of Bucharest A)
5. David Lopez (Monterrey Institute of Technology A)

WUDC 2013: BRAC Wins ESL Title, Porto Tops EFL

The winners of the secondary brackets of the 2013 World Universities Debating Championships are all first-time champions who have made history for their countries. 

In the ESL competition, #14ESL BRAC University A (Ratib Mortuza Ali & Aaqib Farhan Hossain) from Bangladesh won after they defended the motion imploring democracies to give parliamentary seats to large groups of foreigners. Ratib, dressed in a traditional golden Bengali outfit and spoke passionately about the plight of his countrymen who travel and reside in the United Kingdom, also won the audience vote to be the final's "darling". In the EFL category, #5EFL University of Porto A (Tiago Laranjeiro & Ary da Cunha) from Portugal rose triumphant in a debate on the decline of American hegemony. Both Bangladesh and Portugal had never won in any WUDC category before.   

The Bangladeshis in the final defeated higher ranked teams #1ESL University of Leiden A (Daan Welling & Karin Merckens), #2ESL Leiden C (Rogier Baart & Senna Maatoug) and #4ESL Raphael Recananti International School A (Ben Gladnikoff & Alon van Dam). They also ended a three-year Israeli reign over the ESL category. The Portuguese overcame challenges from #12 Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg A (Johannes Samlenski & Jannis Limperg), #14 University of Tokyo A (Toshinari Ishikawa & Kuwa Inokuchi) and #15 University of Bucharest A (Radu Tiganas & Serban Pitic).

WUDC 2013: Monash Wins Again, Sets Records

Maritim Hotel Berlin - the venue of the WUDC 2013 finals

Monash reign continues in the World Universities Debating Championships. In an all-Oceania final at WUDC 2013, #48 Monash University B (James Beavis & Nita Rao) defeated #2 University of Sydney B (Paul Karp & Dominic Bowes), #6 University of Auckland A (Stephanie Thompson & Ben Milsom) and  #24 University of Otago A (Alec Dawson & Kieran Bunn).

This is Monash's third victory in a row. No other institution has done this before. It is also its fifth WUDC title, matching the record held by University of Sydney and University of Glasgow. The best speaker award also went to Melbourne-based Monash through Chris Bisset (Monash A) who shared the title with Pam Cohn (University of London Union A). Both speakers fell in the quarterfinals at the hands of Monash B.  

But what makes this Monash B triumph extra sweet is they made history as the first under-32 team that won WUDC. That would have been impossible had the council voted against the break expansion from 32 teams to 48. The landmark decision to expand the break list paved the way for a strong team with high speaker scores to compensate points dropped during the preliminary stage. #48 Monash B might have been last to break and only gathered 17 points from 9 rounds but they were the only team with that many points that broke, which means they had the highest speaker scores from the 17-point lot. Actually, Monash B's combined speaker score was even higher than #4 University of Cambridge A that had 21 points. Below #2 Sydney B, Monash B had the second highest speaker scores among the finalists. It was not suprising that Monash B whip Nita Rao got the 10th best speaker title.
 
The champions defeated the motion "This House Would Not Allow Religious Communities to Expel Members on the Basis of Views or Actions that Contradict Doctrinal Teachings" from Closing Opposition, the position from where they first won WUDC in 1999. Monash bagged the two previous WUDC titles from Opening Government.

WUDC 2013: Cinderella Teams Slay Favourites in QF

It wouldn't be Worlds if it had no surprises. In one of the quarterfinals, two lower-ranked teams sent favourites out of the 2013 World Universities Debating Championships. #48 Monash University B (James Beavis & Nita Rao), the last team to qualify into the knockouts, and #24 University of Otago A (Alec Dawson & Kieran Bunn), which come from a school that has never broken in WUDC before, defeated #1 University of London Union A (Pam Cohn & Catherine Murphy) and #8 Monash A (Chris Bisset & Madeline Schultz), who all have broken more than once.

Monash B's success would never be possible if the WUDC council had not expanded the break list from 32 to 48 at the start of the Berlin event. They are now the only under-32 team still standing at the moment. Less surprisingly, powerhouse University of Sydney will have 2 teams in the semifinals, both the highest ranked in their respective matches, opening the possibility of taking half of the spots in the final. A half-Sydney final has been done a few times before; last in 2001.

One of the teams that Sydney B eliminated was #15 International Islamic University, the last Asian team in the open competition. Besides IIU, National University of Singapore also broke into the main out rounds but their journey ended in the octofinal.

Here are the semifinal match ups:

SF 1: #5 Sydney A vs #12 St. Andrews A vs #24 Otago A vs #48 Monash B
SF 2: #2 Sydney B vs #6 Auckland B vs #10 Melbourne A vs #19 Oxford B

UT MARA Wins 2015 Bid, Brings Back WUDC to Malaysia

Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia's largest university by size and population, will hold the 2015 World Universities Debating Championships after grabbing 57 votes, 16 more than its rival from University of Auckland. This will be the second time for Malaysia, which hosted WUDC, the most prestigious debating competition in the world, once before in 2005. WUDC 2015 can also be the biggest ever as the organisers advertise that they may open registration for 440 teams with an institutional cap of 3 teams and 2 adjudicators.


The chief adjudicators will be Jonathan Leader-Maynard, who debated for University of Oxford in the final of WUDC 2010, and Shafiq Bazari from the host institution, finalist of the 1st Asian British Parliamentary Debating Championship, also in 2010. They will have 5 deputies, 4 of them representing specific regions.

The preliminary debates will be held on the university's Shah Alam campus, a 20-minute drive from Kuala Lumpur. UT MARA will also become the venue of the 2013 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships. The school has pledged to bear all transport costs within the country and provide air-conditioned rooms for debate purposes free of charge.