The Economist Debate Series. A Severe Contest

Dear Reader,

I'm delighted to invite you to be part of an extraordinary first for Economist.com

Our new Debate Series is an ongoing community forum where propositions about topical issues will be rigorously debated in the Oxford style by compelling Speakers. The first topic being debated is Education and The Economist is inviting our online audience to take part by voting on propositions, sharing views and opinions, and challenging the Speakers.

Five propositions have now been short-listed to address the most far-reaching and divisive aspects of the education debate covering: the place of foreign students in higher education; the position of corporate donors; and the role of technology in today's classrooms. The highest ranking propositions will be debated, with the first
launching on Oct 15th. Cast your vote

Choose the most resonant propositions to be debated from the list below:

Education - The propositions:

1. This house believes that the continuing introduction of new
technologies and new media adds little to the quality of most education.

2. This house proposes that governments and universities everywhere
should be competing to attract and educate all suitably-qualified
students regardless of nationality and residence.

3. This house believes that companies donate to education mainly to
win public goodwill and there is nothing wrong with this.

4. This house believes that the "digital divide" is a secondary
problem in the educational needs of developing countries.

5. This house believes that social networking technologies will bring
large changes to educational methods, in and out of the classroom.

Join the Debate
The debate schedule is as follows:

* Sep 17th-Oct 12th - Vote for your favorite proposition and join
the open forum to discuss topics
* Oct 15th - Winning proposition is revealed and the Debate begins
* Oct 18th - Rebuttals. Share your comments on issues so far and
vote for your winning side
* Oct 23th - Closing arguments by the Speakers. Post any
additional comments you would like to share and vote for your winner
* Oct 26th - The debate winner is announced.

To receive debate updates sign up now. We will then contact you to announce the winning proposition and details of the debate as it unfolds.

I look forward to you joining us and your fellow Economist readers for this lively debate. In the meantime, check the site to track which proposition is winning, and to view guest participants and the announcement of key Speakers at www.economist.com/debate.

Yours sincerely,
Ben Edwards
Publisher
Economist.com

Source: www.Economist.com