DEBATING PROCEDURES
First familiarise yourself with the following debating procedure which you will have to follow during the debate in the Senate Chamber of Stormont
The Speaker and all members will have a copy of the Order paper - an Agenda for the Plenary Session. It will list the motions, who is going to speak and in what order. The speaker calls on each of the named members to speak. Time will be set aside after the named speeches for others to contribute to the debate.
o There will be 7 motions - 7 schools will speak for chosen motions (proposing and seconding) and the same 7 schools will speak against chosen motions (opposing and seconding)
o The Speaker will call on the Clerk to read a motion. The Proposer does not have to repeat the wording of the motion but may do so for emphasis.
o First one pupil PROPOSING THE MOTION will be asked to speak - maximum 1.5 minutes.
o Then a second pupil from the same school seconding THE same MOTION will be asked to speak max. 1 minute (very short).
o Then the first pupil from a different school OPPOSING THE MOTION will be asked to speak - max. 1.5 minutes.
o The second pupil from the same school seconding the motion will be asked to speak - max. 1minute (very short). All named speakers will stand at their microphone.
o After these 4 pupils (proposing and seconding and opposing and seconding) have spoken, everyone else has a chance to speak. Pupils wanting to speak must raise their hand and wait for the Chair to ask them to speak. The floor will be open for 4 minutes. Pupils will then stand up, remaining where they are, state their name and school and make their point - loudly and clearly.
o After the debate has finished, the Proposer of a motion winds up briefly by saying 'I beg to move'. For example: 'Having heard our arguments you can see we have the much stronger case. I urge members to support the motion and I beg to move' (these words must be said).
o After everyone has spoken - there is a vote to decide how many people agree or disagree with the motion. Pupils can also 'abstain'. There will be a 'voice vote' first, followed by a show of hands to allow the votes to be counted.
If more people agree with the motion - it is 'CARRIED'. If more people disagree with the motion - it is 'LOST'. If there is a tie, the motion falls. Debate will last for 60 min.
The debating procedures were compiled in cooperation with the Stormont Education Unit
ALCOHOL TRAIL in Belfast & Lisburn
Now prepare yourself for a simulation activity 'ALCOHOL Trail'.
At the Second Sitting you will be participating in an interactive workshop - 'Alcohol Trail'. It is a role-play comprising those interest groups involved in the alcohol chain from the taxi drivers to the alcohol consumers. There will be 6 roles in total. Each of you will represent one role.
Now choose your role from the following: Taxi Drivers (they provide services to customers of licensed premises), PSNI (their prime objective is to ensure the safety of people in Belfast & Lisburn), Owners of licensed premises (they are primarily interested in their profits), Ambulance & Emergency Services (they provide first aid services to people affected by the effects of excessive drinking or the alcohol related violence), Alcohol Consumers (some alcohol consumers drink irresponsibly or even illegally), Victims of alcohol related violence (people at the end of alcohol chain who were in some way affected by irresponsible drinkers) - To find out more about the roles visit www.cewcni.org.uk
During the workshop in a group of 10 you will try to agree 'in role' on ways/ideas how to reduce the alcohol related violence and antisocial behaviour from the view point of your interest group.
It order to be able to do this task, first you have to research your role thoroughly. You will be provided with a range of websites and other relevant resources, which should help you to find some information about the person you represent. Save all relevant information about your role on a floppy disc in a form of word document print it out and bring it to the Second Sitting.
Before you start your research familiarise yourself with the following questions relating to your role and bear it in mind while working on your role.
Work out and describe some effective ways/solutions to alcohol-related violence in your town centre focusing on:
Ideas how to reduce the alcohol consumption
Altering the alcohol culture/attitude in our society/Belfast & Lisburn,
Preventing underage drinking,
Changing the behaviour/attitude of license owners/retailers
Alternative transport for drinking drivers
Effective and preventive and harm reduction measures for young people age 16-25
Now you can move on to your research by clicking here
CHOOSING THE MOTIONS
Click here and choose one motion to propose and one to oppose for the debate on school drug & alcohol policy. Send us an email with the number of those motions.
PREPARING SPEECHES FOR THE DEBATE
Now that you have chosen one motion to propose and one to oppose prepare short speeches to support your motions (see the debating procedures for further guidance)
