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  • This House Would Choose to be born on North Sentinel Island over being born randomly somewhere else in the world

    Infoslide

    North Sentinel Island, part of the Andaman archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, houses the Sentinelese, an isolated indigenous tribe that vigorously defends its seclusion from outsiders. For the purposes of this debate, if you are born on the North Sentinel Island, basic food security is guaranteed and no climate-change-related disasters will occur during your lifetime.

    Ecuadorian National Schools Debating Championship 2025 · Round 4 · 2025-11-14

  • This House Prefers a World in which most religions maintain communal rituals as the central focus of Spiritual Practice.

    Infoslide

    In many traditional religions of Africa and the Americas, religious practice was primarily centered on communal rituals and social cohesion: festivals, dances, and ceremonies strengthened group identity and the transmission of knowledge. Later, there was a growing emphasis on individual spirituality and personal interpretation of the divine, detached from collective rituals.

    Santa Fe Open 2025 · Final · 2025-11-07

  • This house believes that the validation of Philippine herbal plants should shift from the Western biomedical pipeline to participatory ethnopharmacology as the primary framework.

    Infoslide

    <div><font color="#000412" face="gg sans, Noto Sans, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="white-space-collapse: break-spaces;"><div style="">The Western biomedical validation framework includes pre-clinical and clinical methods such as laboratory assays, phytochemical and toxicity testing, animal studies, pharmacological profiling, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in humans.&nbsp;</div><div style="">Participatory ethnopharmacology is a framework for validating herbal plants with medicinal potential that documents how plants are prepared and used in communities, records healer and patient testimonies, and tracks health outcomes over time. In this framework, indigenous knowledge and community experience sit on equal footing with pharmacological testing, meaning that longstanding use and cultural validation can serve as sufficient evidence of safety and efficacy even without completing the full Western biomedical pipeline.</div></span></font></div>

    Kamalig Pre-NDC 2025 · Round 3 · 2025-10-04

  • This house believes that the Brazilian government should extend the Trans-Amazonian Highway to Pucallpa

    Infoslide

    The Trans-Amazonian Highway starts from Brazil’s Atlantic Coast and stretches 4000km across the Amazon, stopping at The Uncontacted Frontier. The Frontier contains the highest concentration of isolated tribes. Some tribes have asked for support from the Brazilian government. Others choose to be alone, and many have never been contacted. On the other side of the Frontier is the Peruvian city of Pucallpa, a thriving city with a bustling economy.

    VDC Contentions 2025 (English) · Pre Semi Finals · 2025-08-28

  • This house believes that the Brazilian government should extend the Trans-Amazonian Highway to Pucallpa

    Infoslide

    The Trans-Amazonian Highway starts from Brazil’s Atlantic Coast and stretches 4000km across the Amazon, stopping at The Uncontacted Frontier. The Frontier contains the highest concentration of isolated tribes. Some tribes have asked for support from the Brazilian government. Others choose to be alone, and many have never been contacted. On the other side of the Frontier is the Peruvian city of Pucallpa, a thriving city with a bustling economy.

    VDC Contentions 2025 (English) · Novice Semifinals · 2025-08-28

  • This house believes that Zamboanga City should pursue regional cohesion of ZamBaSulTa over prioritizing its distinct Chabacano culture

    Infoslide

    Zamboanga City is known for its historical preservation of infrastractures during Spanish colonization period with people dominantly speaking the Spanish creole ""Chabacano."" The city known for trading and gateway to ZamBaSulTa has been known for including Yakans of Basilan, Tausugs of Sulu, and Sama of Tawi- tawi.

    Orgullo Intervarsity 2025 · Grand Final · 2025-08-16

  • This house would heavily invest in Indigenous Ecological Knowledge for biodiversity conservation in the Philippines

    Infoslide

    Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) in the Philippines is a rich system of environmental understanding rooted in the lifeways of Indigenous Peoples, such as the Ifugao, Dumagat, and Manobo. It guides sustainable farming, forest stewardship, and species protection based on generations of lived experience. However, recent decades have seen a sharp decline in the use and transmission of IEK.

    Grassroots Debate Open Pre-NDC 2025 · Open Semifinals · 2025-08-02

  • This house, as Salumay, would reject the offer

    Infoslide

    Buklod-Katawhan is a grassroots organization rooted in the ancestral values of Kalinaw, a rural town in Mindanao. Led by Salumay, the daughter of a tribal chieftain, the group actively resists destructive mining and agro-industrial projects that threaten indigenous land, livelihood, and cultural identity. Despite its deep community support, Buklod-Katawhan faces chronic shortages in legal, financial, and logistical resources, relying mostly on volunteer work and modest local donations to sustain its advocacy. As local elections near, a powerful political party offers legal aid, funding, and media coverage in exchange for the public endorsement of its candidates.

    Grassroots Debate Open Pre-NDC 2025 · Open Finals · 2025-08-02

  • This house prefers a world with a strong belief in seriti

    Infoslide

    _Seriti_ is communitarian philosophy found in the Setswana, Sesotho, and Sepedi cultures. According to this philosophy, a person's moral, spiritual and social standing - their _seriti_ \- is bestowed upon them by their ancestors, living and dead. Individuals who abide by this philosophy prioritize living in line with the values and desires articulated by their ancestors, and maintain a relationship with them by not ignoring, disrespecting, or dishonoring them.

    World Schools Debating Championships 2025 · Grand Final · 2025-08-01

  • This house would recognise moral necessity as a mitigating factor in sentencing individuals guilty of criminal acts carried out in response to adverse institutional action (using fake identities to protect undocumented refugees, damaging infrastructure used for resource extraction on indigenous lands, hacking digital infrastructure of exploitative pharma companies, etc.)

    Vivaatam Pre-ABP 2025 · Open Semifinals · 2025-07-26

  • This house believes that it is in the interest of local Igorot communities to aggressively oppose hydropower projects in the Cordillera region

    Infoslide

    As part of the Philippines’ commitment to rely on renewable sources for 35% of electricity by 2030, 99 hydropower projects have been greenlit in the Cordillera region. The approved projects span all major rivers from Apayao all the way to Benguet with a total combined generating capacity of more than 4000 megawatts. Both local and national government units have backed the development of the projects with the goal of increasing energy accessibility and jobs in the region while local Igorot communities are divided due to threats of militarization and potential damage to land and water resources.

    North Luzon Invitational Debates 2025 · Octofinals · 2025-07-19

  • That we oppose the reopening of the Panguna mine

    Infoslide

    Bougainville is a semi-autonomous region of Papua New Guinea. The Panguna Copper mine was opened in 1972 by Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL). Local concerns about the mine revived a secessionist movement, leading to the mine’s sabotage in 1989 and a civil war that killed 20,000 people. A 2001 peace deal granted autonomy and promised a referendum, which in 2019 saw 98% vote for independence. The mine remains uncontained, with an estimated $80 billion in copper and gold. The Autonomous Bougainville Government now owns 72% of BCL, and is considering reopening the mine as part of its 2027 independence plan.

    South China Australasian Intervarsity Debate Championships 2025 · Grand Final · 2025-07-06