The Speaker Debates

INTRODUCTION

This project is designed to help you become more confident with the processes involved in researching and testing your ideas with experts and other external stakeholders, as well as exploring themes and debates which may be pertinent to your Unit Two and Unit Three research. You will be working in groups to invite guest speakers to record an audio or video talk or presentation (up to 15 minutes) - in effect, very similar to a TED Talk. OR the visiting speaker could deliver their talk in person, in college – or live online. You will also collaborate with another team that shares your topic, to translate these shared themes into an organized discussion and debate.

You will be working in ten teams. Each team will be paired with another team and assigned a topic for discussion and debate: one for the afternoon (Apple) session, the other for the evening (Grapefruit) session. Each team will be responsible for inviting one or more speakers, to present a view on the topic. Pre-recorded talks can be posted online to a suitable video file-sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo. Therefore, each topic will be addressed by at least two external speakers. The speakers who you invite to speak should be individuals who have expertise and/or a powerful and distinctive point of view regarding the theme at hand. 

The themes for the five sessions are: 

“Truth has changed in the digital age.” Is this proposal true or false - or is the reality simply more nuanced? 

“My self-image and my identity are what I decide they are” Does your identity define the role you play in life – or is it possible to become somebody else? 

 

“People worry too much about things they can’t change” Is this statement true? Or do we underestimate our powers to change the world around us? 

“Creativity always feeds on disruption” Is this assertion true? Or can creative innovation flow from a supportive and nurturing environment?

 “What are the most important questions we are not asking?” The problem may be that we ask all the wrong questions. What holds us back from asking better questions? 

MY FINAL WORK

The poster I designed for the event

Photos from the event