May 10, 2024 -- Newsweek reports that, this weekend, eight high school teams from around the world will compete in the final round of the annual International Public Policy Forum (IPPF) at the home of the nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York City.
The report states that one of the "unique aspects" of the oral debate finals is the cross examination by judges who are often experts on the IPPF topic.
"Not only are these kids cross-examining each other, but now you've got lawyers and successful businesspeople and famous government officials sitting on a panel and asking you a bunch of questions about the topic that you've just debated. It's an exciting process," William A. Brewer III, chairman of the Brewer Foundation, said.
Newsweek reports that the oral debate finals force students to work collaboratively and think "on the fly."
"They have to be willing to modify when they hear a question from a judge that maybe gives them that different perspective on the argument that they hadn't found," said Christina Phillips, a debate coach from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, and a member of the IPPF Advisory Board who will be judging the finals this year. "They need to be able to adjust in that moment."
Read the article here.