One of the oldest student organizations of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, and the oldest debating society in the Baltics currently generously supported by Latvijas Mobilais Telefons, SSER LMT Debate Society was founded shortly after the foundation of the university in 1994. Over almost fifteen years of its existence, it has evolved from being an occasional get-together of students interested in current issues to an organized society of people with a professional attitude to debating and with willingness to involve with its community to discuss the most important issues. All members share the common vision of the Society, which is the Society being the well-established leader in the Baltic debating arena with a European-wide reputation for excellence as well as one of the most influential organizations of the regional economic and political thought.
Our activities fall into four major areas that reflect our mission:
Public Debates
- To encourage interest in global issues as well as to discuss important issues for the members of the Society, other students of SSE Riga and the local public.
We are pleased that the public debates we hold either on our own, or in close co-operation with SSE Riga and its Student Association, receive a great deal of attention both from the students and faculty, and from many people in politics, business, the diplomatic corps, and media. Topics of these debates range from education and social policy to global peace and security.
The guests who have debated in our events include:
- Mr. Juris Kaza, famous telecommunications Journalist, Liberalist and Blogger
- Mr. Martins Mits, acting Prorector of Riga Graduate School of Law, Human Rights’ expert
- Mrs. Margot Wallstrom, Vice-President of the European Commission
- H.E. Mr. Ian Bond, the British Ambassador to Latvia
- Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis, Member of the European Parliament
The guests who have presided or addressed the audience in our events include:
- Mr. Alfs Vanags, the Director of the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS)
- Mr. Vyacheslav Dombrovsky, Research Fellow at Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS) and Assistant Professor at SSE Riga
- Mr. Erik Hallberg, SVP & Head of MA Baltic Countires for Telia Sonera
Competitive Debate
- To create opportunities for members of the Society to compete successfully at top debate tournaments globally.
Members of the Society actively take part in various debate competitions across the world, including the European and the World Championships, the US National Parliamentary Debate Championships, and other prestigious competitions ranging from 80 participants up to around 1200. Recent results of the members of the Society at different competitive debate tournaments can be found at the Results page.
Debate and Communication Training
- To deliver communication training of exceptional quality to members of the Society.
Besides providing a solid basis for public and competitive debate, debate and communication training is intended as a significant contribution to the personal development of the members and the wider public. The success of our training is illustrated by the fact that more than two thirds of all members speaking for SSE Riga in international competitions have started debating, and have been mostly trained within the Society. We are working on getting the best experts in communication to help students develop their abilities. Our guest lecturers have included:
- Dr. Alfred C. Snider (Tuna), Edwin W. Lawrence Professor of Forensics, University of Vermont (United States)
- Dr. Robert Trapp, Professor of Rhetoric, Director of Forensics, Willamette University (United States)
- Ms. Debbie Newman, Head of the Debate and Speech Centre, the English Speaking Union (United Kingdom)
- Mr. Noel Selegzi, Executive Director, the International Debate Education Association (United States)
- Mr. Nick Devlin, Director of Debating, the Cambridge Union (United Kingdom)
The SSE Riga Intervarsity Competition
-To offer fine debating and social experience to university students through the annual SSE Riga IV.
The Society is well known for hosting the oldest and arguably the most prestigious debating competition in Central and Eastern Europe. The tournament regularly attracts excellent debaters from across Europe and beyond, and enjoys substantial media attention. In 2008 the 10th jubilee competition was called SSER & LMT IV 2008 and was held on 12th to 14th of December. Competition welcomed approximately 100 participants from 14 universities from 7 countries (including the Baltics, Germany and the United Kingdom) to enjoy the weekend of debating in Riga. We are now looking forward to host the SSE Riga & Latvijas Mobilais Telefons Intervarsity 2009, which we hope is going to be twice as impressive.
