Strategic Award supports The Battle of Ideas festival and Debating Matters
3 March 2011
The award backs up long-term plans to continue promoting thought-provoking and substantial debates about developments in biomedicine to all age groups.
Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, commented: "Both Debating Matters and the Battle of Ideas have shown tremendous success at getting young people to engage with the contemporary biomedical issues at the heart of our society. We hope that this Strategic Award will help to cement the future of these two important projects, in encouraging scientific literacy and inspiring the decision-makers of tomorrow."
Over the past eight years Debating Matters has involved more than 12 000 students in engaging debates about a wide range of issues. The event has become recognised as an exciting school competition that stretches 16- to 18-year-olds to debate real world issues to a high intellectual standard. Biomedical debates - covering everything from organ donation to genetic screening, clinical trials, ageing and human enhancement - provide students with the chance to research, reflect on and argue over the opportunities and ethical questions thrown up by advances in science.
The majority of the award will underpin a £1.8 million plan to double the capacity of Debating Matters in the UK and India, allowing thousands more students to make sense of difficult issues through the thrashing out of competing ideas and perspectives.
Tony Gilland, director of the Debating Matters Competition, said: "We still have significant sums of money to raise, but this award provides us with a substantial platform upon which to build for the next phase of Debating Matters. It is a wonderful vote of confidence in what has been achieved by the large number of individuals and organisations that have participated in and enthusiastically supported the competition to date."
The award will also be used to develop and promote debates about advances in biomedicine at the Battle of Ideas, a two-day festival of high-level public debate organised by the Institute of Ideas. The festival places an emphasis on audience participation and the events are open to anyone with intellectual curiosity and the courage to think critically. This year's event takes place Saturday 29 October and Sunday 30 October at the Royal College of Art, London.
The UK 2010/2011 Debating Matters competition is already underway, with regional finals taking place until April. The National Final is scheduled to take place in London from Friday 1 July to Sunday 3 July.
Image: Debating Matters. Credit: Wellcome Library, London.
