Collaboration
The Canadian Student Debating Federation is the umbrella organization for student debate at the high school level in Canada. They sponsor the annual National Student Debating Seminar, oversee the Canadian National Team, promote debate throughout the country, and tie the various provincial debate organizations together in a national community.
Canadians’ power of speech has long been acknowledged; our politics, education, and laws have entrenched respect for speech and those who wield it effectively. The Canadian Student Debating Federation also seeks to support the power of speech by exposing young Canadians to the enriching experience that is debating. We work with their members to support their outreach programs for growth!
Tutal is an online tutoring platform matching Canada's leading university student tutors with students all across the country. All sessions are online and convenient - you find your tutor, message them on their app, and book a session with them on their built-in-video chat and whiteboard system.
Tutal has partnered with S&DCF to expand debate programs to schools across the country via tech-enabled solutions.
We were thrilled to be have yet another avenue for outreach and accessible programming with this team of dedicated individuals.
The Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate (CUSID) is the national organization which governs and represents university debating in Canada. CUSID’s membership consists of different debating unions across Canada. Established in 1978, the organization is subdivided into three regions: East, West and Central. CUSID members host many annual tournaments across the country for high school debaters.
We are excited to collaborate with them as we grow programming from coast to coast to coast. Through their assistance we will have access to more qualified instructors, workshops, and many other opportunities not readily available to us at this point.
This opportunity will be a big win for Canadian youth as we continue to grow!
Hart House Debating Club established at the University of Toronto in 1919 is one of the oldest and most prestigious debate societies in Canada.
Starting in September of 2024, they will host us for three workshops annually which include the three main styles of debate practiced in Canadian schools currently.
This is an opportunity for our students to learn from a group of individuals who have stood where they are now and see how with practice this skill can be very rewarding. Thank you to HHDC for giving back to the community.
Our collaboration with the Competitive Kids STEM program began in 2020 with conversations on how we could support them in their programming. This relationship has grown and to date we have supported hundreds of students through their programs.
One of our highlights is each year they host the Canadian Innovation Debate Contest. S&DCF co-hosts, along with providing qualified judges to ensure the quality of this event is spectacular.
It is through collaborations such as this one that we are able to reach more youth across our country. Students going through this program go back to their own schools to help start a speech and debate club reaching out to S&DCF for support.
Many high school students often resort to external places like debate coaching or debate summer camps in order to find places to engage in debate and improve. While we fully support these external platforms, the Queens Debating Union also recognizes that these opportunities are limited to those who are willing to spend the time and money to find those platforms or to those who have pre-existing connections within the debate community. We thought it would be beneficial to the high school debate community if we were able to provide a space free of charge in which high school students could learn from and debate outside of just their usual club spaces and engage with current university debaters.
Since 2021, we have paired up with the Speech and Debate Canada Foundation to provide online debate sessions to students across Canada! Huge thanks to them for funding and supporting us on our journey to make debate as accessible as possible!
Junior Achievement Canada is a like-minded Canadian organization with a mission to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. In 2021 we partnered with JA Canada to increase accessibility for youth to participate in learning experiences that enhance public speaking skills. "Introduction to Public Speaking" is an online course that will help high school students improve their public speaking skills for a number of occasions. The course can be found on the JA website, along with many other fabulous opportunities for Canadian youth.
It is through joint efforts such as this one that we are able to coordinate with other Canadian organizations working to better prepare our youth of today to be exemplary leaders for tomorrow.
In January 2024, we collaborated with Canadian Parents for French to offer workshops to students wishing to partake in the annual Courcours d'art oratorio. Jordan Burg and Richard Picotin worked together to design and deliver two workshops online to students from coast to coast. The workshops were offered in both of Canada's official languages.
Both workshops were recorded and can be found here, under workshops and resources. Please feel free to download the files as they are available to anyone wishing to use them for their programming.
We were thrilled to be called upon to help out such an amazing organization and look forward to future collaborations with them.
