Global Junior Debaters Winter Camp 2024, preparing to inspire young debaters
Seoul, South Korea (July 26) - Global Junior Debaters is a nonprofit organization founded by students in Korea. Global Junior Debaters aims to inspire and nurture young debaters. Following success in the first iteration of the camp, a second iteration is to be held in the winter. Chloe Oh (President) started Global Junior Debaters due to her motivation to provide a supportive environment for students of all experience levels to explore and excel in debate, speech, and public speaking. Unlike the rigorous and often stressful hagwon culture in Korea, this camp emphasizes an approach where students can engage deeply with the logistics of debating without feeling pressured. She has participated in and earned awards in numerous prestigious competitions, including Asia Schools Open Winter Debate Competition Championship Title (2022), Korea National Championships British Parliamentary Debate Championship Title U-16 (2022), Oxford Schools East Asia 3rd Best Speaker (2023), Korea National Championships U-15 Champion and Finals Best Speaker (2023), Asia Pacific Debate Championships U-15 Champion and Finals Best Speaker (2023), and KAIAC Forensics 1st Place Extemporaneous (2024). With other positions in MUN and her school’s Forensics Team such as Deputy-Secretary-General for Seoul Model United Nations XXVII, Assistant Director for Yale Korea Model United Nations XII, and is now the Category leader of Extemporaneous for the KIS Varsity Speech Team. Therefore with this experience, her vision was to offer high-quality lessons and individualized coaching that would encourage debaters. Her passion for creating a positive learning atmosphere inspired her to establish a debate camp that balances academic content with an enjoyable approach to help all debaters gain the same knowledge and confidence. Hannah Choo (Vice President) has also been a part of various tournaments and programs. Including being Oxford Schools Korea Grand Champion and 2nd Best Speaker (2022), Paris World Schools Debating Championship Junior Grand Champion (2022), YTN 2nd Best Speaker (2023), Korea Nationals Open Grand Champion and Best Speaker (2023), KAIAC Parliamentary Forensics Tournament 1st Place (2023), and on the KIS Varsity Speech Team and the WSDC Korea Development Team (2023). With the same vision as Chloe Oh (President), endorsed the creation of Global Junior Debaters. This summer, the organization launched its first debate camp, featuring 2-hour classes from Monday through Friday, culminating in a tournament on the final day. The camp focused on a broad range of topics for each class, including debate fundamentals, family, media and social movements, the criminal justice system, religion and ethics, technology and medicine, international relations and politics, and economics. With a low student-to-coach ratio averaging 1:8, debaters received high quality instruction and opportunities to debate and ask questions without the fear of failure and judgment. With a final tournament to showcase their skills, various prizes including best speaker (top 3) and top team awards were awarded with all participants of the camp and tournament receiving a completion certificate. Global Junior Debaters, a program for initiatives, invites like-minded individuals with a passion for debate to join their organization, as participants or coaches. The next iteration of the Global Junior Debaters camp will take place this winter, offering two sessions made to accommodate more students. The first session is scheduled from December 26 to 29, followed by the second session from January 2 to 5. Each session will provide 2-hour daily classes, with lectures, drills, and debates. Building on the success and feedback from the previous summer iteration, this upcoming winter program aims to deliver an even more refined experience for young debaters, ensuring they receive instruction of the highest quality in a supportive and collaborative environment. Registration will be opened in August and will be accessible through instagram. Contact with further inquiries. 박원중 기자 (park.wonjun.ja@gmail.com)preparing junior debate championship best speaker finals best