The Debating Matters National Finals Schedule

Media News

New Delhi, January 16, 2009

Preparation Seminars

Day 1: Thursday 15 January

Seminar 1: Free speech is not an absolute right

14:30-15:15

Conference Room 1 & 2 (2nd floor)

Speaker For: Antara Dev Sen, Editor, The Little Magazine

Speaker Against: Priya Hingorani, Advocate

Chair: Shirley Dent, Institute of Ideas

Tutor: Helen Birtwistle, Debating Matters

Seminar 2: India should resist the commercial planting of GM food crops

14:30-15:15

Theatre

Speaker For: Dr Suman Sahai, Convener, Gene Campaign

Speaker Against: Dr Kiran Sharma, Principal Scientist (Cell & Molecular Biology) at ICRISAT

Chair: Tony Gilland, Institute of Ideas

Tutor: Justine Brian, Debating Matters

Seminar 3: Clinical trials in India exploit the poor and the vulnerable

15:30-16:15

Conference Room 1 & 2 (2nd floor)

Speaker For: Dr D Raghunadharao, Professor and Head, Department of Medical Oncology, Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad

Speaker Against: Dr Vinod Raina, Head of Department of Medical Oncology, Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Chair: Tony Gilland, Debating Matters

Tutor: Helen Birtwistle, Debating Matters

Seminar 4: In today’s India, our unity is being undermined by our diversity

15:30-16:15

Theatre

Speaker Fot: Dr Swapan Dasgupta, Journalist and political commentator

Speaker Against: Sir Mark Tully, Broadcaster and writer

Chair: Dr Debanjan Chakrabarti, British Council

Tutor: Claire Fox, Institute of Ideas

Inspiration Event

Film & Discussion: ‘India and China Catching up with the West’

Chair: Claire Fox Director, Institute of Ideas

Panellists for discussion:

Alka Acharya Chairperson and Associate Professor of Chinese Studies, Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Gurcharan Das Author, management consultant and public intellectualabout the British in India, which was presented at the Edinburgh Festival and other cities. Penguin has recently published his book of essays called ‘The Elephant Paradigm’. He has two children and he lives in New Delhi.

Stuart Simpson Convenor, Institute of Ideas Emerging Economies Forum

Institute of Ideas ‘Question Time’

Chair: Claire Fox Director, Institute of Ideas

Dr Bill Durodie Senior Fellow, Coordinating the Homeland Defence Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Samar Harlarnkar Managing Editor, Hindustan Times

Chandan Mittra Editor and Managing Director of The Pioneer

Manjula Padmanabhan Writer, artist and children’s illustrator

Dr Jack Watters Vice President for External Medical Affairs, Pfizer

Opening Rounds

Day 2: Friday 16 January

Round 1: Free speech is not an absolute right

10:40-12:00

Group 1A: Theatre

FOR: Lady Andal Venkattaasubbarao School

AGAINST: Don Bosco School

Judges: Dr Bill Durodie Senior Fellow, Coordinating the Homeland Defence Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Shruti Pandey, Lawyer

Kamal Singh British Council's former Head of Governance & Social Justice, India

Chair: Dr Debanjan Chakrabarti Head, Intercultural Dialogue Programme, British Council India

Group 1B: Conference Room 1 & 2 (2nd floor)

FOR: St. Xavier’s Collegiate School

AGAINST: Sri Sankara Vidyashramam

Judges: Deepas Das Internal Legal Advisor, FedEx

Amitava Sanyal Assistant Editor, Hindustan Times

Dr Jack Watters Vice President for External Medical Affairs, Pfizer

Chair: Justine Brian National Administrator, Debating Matters

Round 2: India should resist the commercial planting of GM food crops

13:10-14:30

Group 2A: Theatre

FOR: St. Mark’s Senior Secondary School

AGAINST: Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School

Judges: Dr Bill Durodie Senior Fellow, Coordinating the Homeland Defence

Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

K V Prabhu Head, Division of Genetics, IARI; Officer-in-Charge, National Phytotron Facility, IARI

Meena Vaidyanathan Head, External Communications, HCL Technologies Ltd

Chair: Helen Birtwistle Press & Judges Coordinator, Debating Matters

Group 2B: Conference Room 1 & 2 (2nd floor)

FOR: S.M. Choksey High School & Junior College

AGAINST: Delhi Public School

Judges: Prof Simon Best OBE Serial Entrepreneur

Devinder Sharma Journalist, writer, thinker and researcher

Shailaja Sharma Director, Foreign Affairs; Manager, External/Public Affairs, Shell India

Chair: Tony Gilland National Coordinator, Debating Matters

Semi-Finals & Final

Day 3: Saturday 17 January

Semi-Final 1: Clinical trials in India exploit the poor and the vulnerable

10:40-12:00

Theatre

FOR: Winner of Group 1A

AGAINST: Winner of Group 1B

Judges: Prof Simon Best OBE Serial Entrepreneur

Nishit Gandhi Head of Decision Support, British Council, India & Sri

Lanka

Dr Jack Watters Vice President for External Medical Affairs, Pfizer

Chair: Tony Gilland National Coordinator, Debating Matters

Semi-Final 2: In today’s India, our unity is being undermined by our diversity

12:00-13:20

Theatre

FOR: Winner of Group 2A

AGAINST: Winner of Group 2B

Judges: Dr Bill Durodie Senior Fellow, Coordinating the Homeland Defence Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Osama Manzar Entrepeneur, author and columnist

Dr Dhruv Raina Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Chair: Sujata Sen Director East India, British Council

Final: India’s future lies more with Asia than the United States

14:30-16:00

Theatre

FOR: Winner of Group 1

AGAINST: Winner of Group 2

Judges: Les Dangerfield Deputy Director, British Council, India

Santosh Desai Managing director and Chief Executive Officer, Future

Brands Ltd

Amir Ullah Khan Director, India Development Foundation

Chair: Claire Fox Director, Institute of Ideas

For further information, please contact:

Hanmer MS&L Communications Pvt. Limited

Imtiaz Alam

E-mail: imtiaz@hanmermsl.com

Tel: +91 11 4651 7700