One of the stars of the first ever DM Berlin championship back in 2015 was Julia Dannemann-Freitag who is now a regular judge for the competition. Debating Matters caught up with Julia this year to ask her about her first experience of debating and why she continues to stay involved.
Continue reading “Spotlight on a DM Alumna: Julia Dannemann-Freitag”Sabine Beppler-Spahl: on launching Debating Matters in Berlin
As Debating Matters returns from yet another fantastic championship in Berlin, we asked our lead German partner, Sabine Beppler-Spahl, what inspired her to bring the championship to Berlin.
“As chair of the Freiblickinstitute, whose purpose is to organise public discussion on political and scientific issues, I felt the chance to host Debating Matters in Berlin was an opportunity not to be missed! Although Britain has a long tradition of schools debates, in Germany debating societies are not as well established. But there is taste for serious, content-based debating in this country too!
Continue reading “Sabine Beppler-Spahl: on launching Debating Matters in Berlin”Nelson-Mandela-Schule emerge victorious at the Debating Matters Berlin Championship 2022

An enthusiastic and well-researched team from Nelson-Mandela-Schule saw off competition from seven other Berlin schools this year to emerge as victors in the Debating Matters Berlin Championship 2022.
The team competed in three group-stage debates and, in the final, took on fellow group-stage winners Schadow-Gymnasium to argue against the motion “Tech companies should act to stop online misinformation”. Both teams were well-prepared and argued passionately for their side of the motion. That meant the panel of judges – Professor Stefan Chatrath, Professor Oleg Dik and DM alumnus Julia Dannemann-Freitag – had a tough job on their hands coming to a final decision! However, Nelson-Mandela-Schule eventually emerged victorious, rounding off an intellectually thrilling day of debate organised by Freiblickinstitut and hosted by University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) on its Berlin Campus.
Continue reading “Nelson-Mandela-Schule emerge victorious at the Debating Matters Berlin Championship 2022”Announcing the Debating Matters Berlin 2022 Championship!
We’re delighted to announce that Debating Matters is returning to Berlin – live and in person, for our seventh DM Berlin championship.
On Thursday 16 June, during a full day of lively debates, eight Berlin schools will battle it out to become Debating Matters Berlin 2022 Champions. Along the way, teams will have to tackle such issues as whether technical progress can solve our environmental problems, whether Western museums should repatriate their cultural artefacts and if UBI can solve our economic and social problems. The group stages will culminate in the winners of each group taking on the topic, Tech companies should act to stop online misinformation in the grand final.
Continue reading “Announcing the Debating Matters Berlin 2022 Championship!”