About CSIS

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Debate Promo

  The Latest Championship Round

AILA's debate series is motivated by the belief that policy makers must be able to articulate and defend their opinions.  This series is designed to enhance research skills, better public speaking, teach argumentation styles, and create a substantive dialogue among young people.

The AILA curriculum includes a variety of workshops that focus on skills related to debate: public speaking, argumentation, policy analysis, and writing workshops.  The events of our debate series, however are typically based on one of two formats. 

"TRADITIONAL DEBATE" The first format is based off a traditional debate style.  Teams are given their topics several weeks prior to the event to allow them to research, structure, and rehearse their argument.  The amount of time given for the arguments is longer and teams either debate as individuals or in pairs. "SPEED DEBATING" The second format is a creation of AILA's, which focuses on fast-paced impromptu debate.  Debaters receive the topics just minutes before the debate and must make their point in a shorter amount of time.  This format allows dozens of people to participate simultaneously and gives them the opportunity to debate multiple topics in one night.

Participating Organizations	Sample Resolution Topics
American Enterprise Institute Cato Institute CSIS Heritage Foundation Hudson Institute Young Professionals in Foreign Policy	Normalizing Relations with Iran Negotiating N. Korea's Weapons Program Labeling 'Deep Throat' a Patriot Closing Guatanamo Bay Prison Judging the Legality of Domestic Spying Intervening in the Darfur Crisis