Voice
August Learning Days
Saskatchewan Elocution and Debate Association
Email: info@saskdebate.com
Website: www.saskdebate.com
Location: 310 Wall Street Suite 207 Saskatoon, SK S7K 1N7
Phone: (306) 780-9243
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skdebate/
Twitter: @SEDA
2019 SEDA Debate Camp
Model U.N. and Framing were noted as campers favorite classes, and Prepping classes are what campers were wishing there was more of. We will keep that in mind for next year!
A Big Thank You!
- Our camp directors Leora & Anwyn Diakuw.
- Our camp leaders & summer students Azwa, Hamza, Muhammed, and Victor.
- Our volunteer leaders from the University of Saskatchewan Debate Society Andy Luu and Abby Vadeboncoeur.
- SEDA President Wendy James taught the advanced classes on Argumentation: Efficiency, Strategy: Epitome Examples and Strategy:Framing and Crystallization.
Thank you to the Canada Summer Jobs Program as their funding is a crucial part of running our summer programming. The Canada Summer Jobs grants are assessed on a constituency-by- constituency basis so SEDA would also like to thank MP Sheri Benson of Saskatoon West and MP Kevin Waugh of Saskatoon Grasswood for their support of SEDA and our young people. Both MP's visited debate camp to get a glimpse of our work and see the summer students in action!
2020 SEDA Debate Camp
At the end of the regular season SEDA will contact clubs about camp interest. Interest dictates whether we can host a camp in both Saskatoon and Regina. We would love to expand our camp program to include as many debaters across Saskatchewan as possible!
Global Gathering Place Workshop
The summer students of SEDA conducted a workshop with Global Gathering Place (GGP) on August 8th. GGP is a non-profit drop-in center that provides services for immigrants and refugees in Saskatoon and they help newcomers adapt to life in Canada by offering support and skill development, acceptance, and a welcoming environment. The summer students of SEDA led the workshop in a program GGP runs called Breaking Ground which targets youths aged 17 to 30 years old. Participants in Breaking Ground are guided through a series of hands-on workshops and presentations where they set short-term and long-term goals. Breaking Ground empowers young adult clients to break into the job market and begin their journey towards finding a meaningful career in Canada. The goal of SEDA’s youth-led workshop was to empower and improve speech and communication skills along with introducing debate to have the participants think of different sides of topics and help them become confident with their speaking capacity. According to Michelle Elliott, the program facilitator of Global Gathering Place and Breaking Ground, “Overall the comfort level of the group increased, and the session helped our students feel more relaxed when speaking to others, and to not get as anxious or take it seriously. This workshop taught them to become more aware of how they are presenting themselves, and that there are simple and easy changes they can make to how they speak so they can communicate more clearly and effectively”.
The director and a summer student of SEDA also conducted a drop-in workshop with GGP on August 21st. SEDA provided the workshop to the newcomer and immigrant youth in grades five to eight. SEDA’s workshop was tailored to fit some of the participants who spoke very little or no English. The goal of SEDA’s workshop was to empower and improve speech and communication skills along with introducing debate to have the participants think of different sides of topics and help them become confident with their speaking capacity. The youth were much more comfortable with elocution and debating along with being more confident than they were at the beginning of the workshop.
August Coaches Intensive
World's Training Camp
A few Saskatchewan students who had recently competed at the National Championships were invited to observe the World's Training Camp and participate in their own workshops. Watching Team Canada members tackle the complexity of worlds style was a great inspiration and offered encouragement to strive for excellence.
Club Registration for the 2019-2020 Season is Open!
Are you SEDA Alumni?
Being part of the SEDA Alumni means you are supporting the debate community in Saskatchewan. The simplest way to support the community is to fill out the survey below. Just by answering some questions for us, SEDA can gather important demographics that we use when requesting grants, building partnerships, advocating for debate, and inspiring youth! If you know someone who is a past debater, please send them this newsletter and encourage them to support us. If you have benefited from SEDA please consider giving back in some way so others can enjoy similar opportunities!