National Debate Qualifiers

Every year the Milestone Institute presents Hungarian students with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to debate the brightest minds within the historical walls of the University of Oxford and Cambridge. The Milestone Debating Society offers an introductory and preparatory program free of charge to all students interested in participating in the prestigious competitions of Oxford Schools and ICYD. Besides preparation, the Institute also hosts the National Qualifiers and opens up their debate coaching sessions for the qualified teams. No prior debating experience needed to attend the sessions and the Qualifiers. Both competitions are in a British Parliamentary format and are open to teams of two. You can apply to the Qualifiers without attending the prep sessions, however, it is strongly advised to take advantage of this opportunity.

Oxford Schools 2022

The only requirement for registration is for your team of two to be comprised of students enrolled in a high school in Hungary, you must be aged above 14 and have the language competencies which allow you to debate in English.

The Oxford Union Society’s annual Oxford Schools competition is the largest British Parliamentary school-level debating competition in the world. The competition offers students aged 14-18 an excellent chance to develop their skills and confidence in public speaking, thoughtful argumentation, and analytical problem-solving.

Come to our preparation sessions to get equipped for the National Qualifier hosted by Milestone. For the best teams, Finals Day will happen on the 13th of March, 2022 and it will be hosted by Oxford Union.

Oxford Schools Prep Session (hosted by Milestone ONLINE) – 29th January 1:30pm–4pm (strongly advised to attend by all who register for the Qualifier and others are welcome too) register individually here

Oxford Schools Qualifiers (hosted by Milestone ONLINE) – 12th–13th February – register your team here by 23rd January!

Oxford Schools Finals (organised and hosted by Oxford Union as a hybrid competition) – 12th March 2022

If you have any questions do not hesitate to get in touch with Eszter Sebők, the Student Life Coordinator at sebok@msinst.org.

The Prep session shall commence at 13:30 on the 29th January 2022. The Oxford Schools Qualifiers will happen on 12th–13th February. Further details on the event will be communicated to registrants after the registration deadline.

Current schedule for the National Qualifiers (subject to change):

12th February (Saturday)
9.30 AM – 10.00 AM Registration and welcome
10:00 AM – 11:05 AM 1st Preliminary Round
11:05 AM – 11:35 AM Judges’ Feedback
11:35 AM – 12:30 PM Lunch Break
12:30 PM – 13:35 PM 2nd Preliminary Round
13:35 PM – 14:05 PM Judges’ Feedback
14:05 PM – 15:10 PM 3rd Preliminary Round (closed round)
15:10PM – 15:20 PM Wrap up for the day

13th February (Sunday)
9.30 AM – 10.00 AM Registration and Welcome
10.00 AM – 11:05 AM 4th Preliminary Round (closed round)
11.05 AM – 11:20 AM Closing remarks and announcement of breaking teams
11:20 AM – 12:35 PM Grand Final
12:35 PM – 1:00 PM Announcement of Results and Feedback
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM Concluding remarks

International Competition for Young Debaters 2022

ICYD is an annual debating competition in the British Parliamentary (BP) format (teams of two). Participants must be aged 15 or under on August 31st, 2022 and must be enrolled in high school in Hungary. Come to our preparatory sessions and national qualifiers in order to qualify for the Finals organised by Oxford Union. Finals Day is being hosted by the Oxford Union this year and it might take place online or in Oxford. This is a unique opportunity for young debaters to compete on an international stage with other students of a similar age and skill level.

ICYD Prep Session (hosted by Milestone ONLINE) – Sunday, 27th February 1:30pm–4pm (strongly advised to attend by all who register for the Qualifier) register individually here

ICYD National Qualifiers (hosted by Milestone ONLINE) – 5th March – register your team here until 20th February!

ICYD Finals (hosted by Oxford Union) – 24th April 2022

The Prep session shall commence at 13:30 on the 27th February 2022. All registrants will receive a reminder of the preparatory session and further details of the prep session and the national qualifier event will be shared a couple of days after the registration deadline.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to get in touch with Anna Tolmayer, the Student Life Coordinator at tolmayer@msinst.org.

Disclaimer: Milestone Institute is the organiser of the National Qualifiers, the Finals are organised by the Student Unions of Oxford for which the Institute does not take responsibility. Qualified teams are responsible to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements for the finals and the Institute shall not be liable for any events that might occur out-with its boundaries.

Looking forward to seeing you there!