Get a team together to show your debating skills and master the art of public speaking
Challenge your public speaking and debating abilities and perform, persuade, and entertain the audience with your display of knowledge of a topic of your choosing.
In teams of three, you will argue for and against your chosen topic. You will present structured arguments and rebuttals before taking a question from the audience.
Participants can select a topic that is important to them, allowing them to delve deep into research, formulate ideas, and expand their knowledge.
Taking part helps build self-confidence and develop public speaking skills, including how to keep an audience engaged.
Entrants can take part in the Intermediate (ages 11-13) or Senior (14-17) categories (ages as of 31st August 2024).
Download the 2024/25 competition Information Pack  and Poster and contact your local Rotary club for an entry form.
This competition is one of two public speaking competitions designed to encourage young people to develop the creative and presentation skills essential to the art of public speaking.
Details for the other competition, Rotary Youth Speaks, can be found here.
Please note, for 2024/25 there will be no national final for either Rotary Youth Speaks, or Rotary Youth Speaks: A Debate. Each Rotary district and cluster (groups of districts) will be choosing which of the two public speaking competitions they will or will not be running. Reach out to your local Rotary club to find out what is on offer in your local area, and the specific entry details and dates.
“It’s okay to cheat” and “Lying is a necessary evil” were the winning topics at the national finals of Rotary Youth Speaks: A Debate held for 2023/24. Read more >
Redland Green School from Bristol were victors in the senior category at Rotary Youth Speaks: A Debate 2023/24.
