Questions and Answers: Zagreb EUDC 2014 Bid Q: Is your team experienced enough to run a EUDC?

Are we voting for a safe and riskfree bid? A: Half of our convening team was on the org com for Belgrade EUDC 2012. No IV, Open or Schools competition can compare to the scale of organising a EUDC or WUDC. Our team members have the experience of managing logistics, huge numbers of volunteers, catering and socials. They also know what to expect from managing a EUDC, and have the hands on experience of 2012 to ensure Zagreb EUDC is run to perfection. In the past year alone, the convening team have organised over 12 major debating competitions throughout Europe between them, dealing with hundreds of people at each. We have the combined power of volunteers from Open Communication Belgrade, one of the largest and most efficient debating societies in the world. They have organised over 30 public campaigns, EUDC 2012 and numerous tournaments. They also have the manpower capable to help run EUDC Zagreb. We also have volunteers from the Zagreb Debate Union and Zagreb University. We have the absolute support of the hosting institution, Zagreb Convention Bureau, and the Zagreb Tourist Board, meaning that if we need assistance on any matters we have huge professional capacity at our fingertips. Our tournament can run using only a minimum of sponsorship, and most of it has already been accounted for. Q: Will there be air conditioning at all venues? A: All our proposed accommodation facilities are 4* hotels. Croatia is one of the top tourist destinations in the world and hosts millions of tourists each year. A 4* hotel dealing with this kind of demand is more than capable of supplying sufficient AC. The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is specifically designed to ensure it does not become too hot, and has an excellent and modern AC system. All other venues are high-end venues catering to clientele, or are government buildings with high standard facilities. Q: Where will we be staying? A: Our budget assumes that we only receive our absolute minimum amount of sponsorship (EUR 10,000). With this amount of sponsorship, we plan to use the 4* Sheraton Panorama Four Points. The hotel has tennis courts open to guests, full wifi, a next-door pool, AC and catering. Buses will take participants from the hotel to the debating venues, and the in-rounds are 7 minutes from the hotel. Due to support from the university, city and interest from private companies we have already received, it is extremely likely that we will surpass this absolute minimum level of sponsorship. In this case, we will be using The 4* International Hotel Zagreb, which is 8 minutes to walk and 3 minutes by bus.

Q: What makes the Zagreb bid different? A: We know that the EUDC aims to bring debating excellence to the whole of Europe, and thats why we think that its important to host EUDC in a variety of diverse locations across Europe. Hosting Belgrade EUDC 2012 did fantastic things for debating in Belgrade and for the people of Belgrade. Take a look at Open Communications video on how the tournament improved debating in the region: there was a huge increase in teams from the region breaking at tournaments, setting up debating societies, and hosting their own competitions and training clubs. That is a massive achievement, and hosting EUDC in 2014 could do the same for Croatia. This bid really matters for that reason. It means that universities in countries such as Macedonia, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and Montenegro can afford to attend the tournament. It also means that debating is promoted in Croatia a circuit which is eager, inspiring and hoping to improve. It would attract institutional and financial support for debating in Croatia the university, city of Zagreb and Croatian government have increased their support of debating just from seeing our bid. Our team itself shows what open communication can do debaters connecting across borders to try and improve debating for those who need it most. But we also know that EUDC is about quality accommodation, excellent socials and high standards of efficiency, reliability and quality. We can provide this through 4* hotels, stunning socials, excursions to some of the most beautiful natural locations on earth, and a team which has the experience of EUDC 2012 to help it deliver. Zagreb EUDC can improve European debating, and provide quality. It can deliver on all counts. Q: What can we expect from your CA team? A: Our CA team have huge experience in international debating. They have achieved high standards in their personal debating careers, but more importantly, they are committed to ensuring the tournament represents the projects within debating they are passionate about, with Milan leading Open Communication and Convening Belgrade EUDC, and Rebecca conducting research into equity issues within debating. They will work immensely hard on ensuring adjudication at EUDC is top quality in the same manner they have worked on previous projects they are passionate about. To that end they will be providing:

Guaranteed regional diversity for their DCA team (they will be appointing 5 DCAs) Training workshops for debaters at EUDC Zagreb at no extra cost. They have confirmed that Michael Shapira (prospective CA of Vienna EUDC 2015), Harish Natarajan (CA of Chennai WUDC 2014) and Manos Moschopoulos. More experienced coaches of this level will also be providing training. They will be required to CA as many tournaments as possible in the year before EUDC They will be providing adjudicator and debating training in the year before EUDC They will, alongside our equity officer Marietta Gdeke, be ensuring that research is undertaken to investigate possible biases towards ESL speakers at tournaments. Any results found will be used to formulate the judging briefing for Zagreb EUDC. This is based on requests from various debaters.

Q: Where will the socials be?

A: Our opening party will be at Bundek Lake a stunning lake in the centre of the city of Zagreb. Our other socials are taking place at the Zagreb Dance Centre and one of Zagrebs numerous central nightclubs. Zagreb is known for being one of the best clubbing spots in Europe. Our Break Night Party will be at the Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art, which has been named as the number one thing to do in Zagreb by Time Out Magazine. The museum is one of the most unique party venues in Europe. It contains 600 permanent exhibits of modern art and installations, allowing you to party the night away surrounded by stunning exhibits, psychedelic lighting and fantastic music. This is a party venue unlike any other. Our championship dinner will be at the Conference Centre Hypo Expo, which has hosted concerts, festivals, conferences and business events. Q: Where will the out-rounds be held? A: All quarter finals will be held at the old City Hall, a beautiful old building which still houses some city committee meetings. All semi-finals will be held across the road from the old City Hall in the Croatian Parliament, which boasts lovely architecture, interiors, and huge auditoriums with full microphone equipment and sound quality which is used to providing an excellent sound experience during debates. The final will be held at the Croatian National Theatre, one of the most beautiful buildings in Europe. It has comfortable seating, is used to holding performances requiring excellent sound facilities, such as ballets, plays and operas, and is one of the most unique and luxurious venues to host a championship final. If you have any questions you would like us to answer directly, please email general.eudc.zagreb@gmail.com