With the OrgCom and all others involved having more or less recovered, it is now time to officially thank everyone for this year’s edition of the Vienna InterVarsity Debating Tournament!
Convened by the Dynamic Duo of Melanie Sindelar and Regina Puthenpurayil and with an outstanding CA Team – Christine Simpson, Nicole Loiter and our very own Stefan Zweiker – the tournament saw us celebrate the tenth anniversary of Austrian Debating, with nearly 100 teams from all over the world joining us for the tournament and party. Vienna IV 2014 was the biggest Intervarsity ever held in Europe.
After six rounds, challenging quarter- and semifinals and a Grand Final in the Festive Hall of the University of Vienna as well as some fun socials along the way, it was Marija Simic and Djordje Jovicevic from the team “Belgrado” (Closing Government) who took home the coveted trophy.
Following teams debated in the Finals of the Vienna IV 2014:
- OG: Warsaw A (Karolina Partyga, Maja Łukomska)
- OO: Vermont GW (Rebecca White, Mariel Golden)
- CG: Belgrado (Marija Simić, Djordje Jovicevic)
- CO: Vermont SS. (Jacob Senghas, Franny Solnick)
Congratulations to all and once again thank you for this amazing weekend! Many thanks from Debattierklub Wien to our sponsors, importantly our key partner Baker & McKenzie, the Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, the Universität Wien, Ströck, Esarom, Red Bull, Jede Dose zählt, Wien Tourismus, and especially JEF – the young European federalists.
Goodbye from Vienna – we hope to see you in 2015!
Motions:
Final: THBT No state in any situation has the right to demand, encourage or promote its citizens to fight or die for the country
Semi final: THBT that media aimed at children should stop depicting the ‘happily ever after’ (For the purpose of the debate the ‘happily ever after means the end of a movie where the main characters end up happy in a romantic relationship)
QF: Given a machine to predict a person’s life 95% accurately, thw not use it
R1: THBT NGOS should reject sponsorship from companies whose actions are not consistent (= who do not act in accordance with) with the charities aims
R2: In situations where it is not possible to achieve both aims and the decision is upon the doctor, THBT doctors should prioritise prolonging life over the quality of that life
R3: Context slide: The current population growth in the Vienna neighbourhood of Ottakring is almost exclusively driven by immigration from beyond Austria’s borders. It ranks among the areas with the highest percentage of immigrants and is particularly popular with immigrants from Eastern Europe, the large majority of which come from the former Yugoslavia.
THBT that Vienna should devote Ottakring to immigrants from Eastern Europe (i.e.: An Eastern European ‘China Town’)
R4: THBT the US and the EU should support a Russian annexation of Crimea in exchange for an otherwise independent Ukraine.
R5: Infoslide: The Thirst Games is a reality tv show in which contestants compete against each other and battle to the death. The games continue until only one contestant remains alive, and that person wins fame, glory and riches.
Assuming participants have consented freely and in full knowledge of the risks and possible consequences, THW allow its citizens to participate in the “Thirst Games”
R6: Infoslide: For the purpose of this debate “good time tourism” refers to every form of tourism that satisfies human desires and is commonly forbidden in Western states (sex, drugs, chewing gum).
THS nations that market themselves as destinations for good time tourism.
The Tab can be accessed here.
Andreas Villareal
