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This event was an offer to teachers and pupils in Hamburg's schools and was held in English. Twenty-nine pupils and 16 teachers from 13 high schools in Hamburg participated.
During a two-hour workshop the British debating expert Andrew Walsh taught principles and techniques of English debating. With humor and arresting examples he illustrated the methods with which to collect and structure arguments and to deliver them to best effect. This form of debating is a competitive sport and one must be able to argue convincingly for a motion that is not necessarily in accordance with one's own opinion.
The workshop was followed by a show debate by two teams from the Sophie Barat School in Hamburg. The motion on the floor was "This house believes that climate change is the greatest threat to our existence".
The proponents of this thesis were declared winners, since the majority of the audience was convinced of the truth of the motion after the debate. However, the opponents made a brave show with convincing arguments for other dire threats to humanity.
