Get Involved

What is the format of the debate?

The debate features a panel of six speakers, three "for" and three "against" the motion. A seventh member of the event team is the Chair, who you will see introducing the event and at other stages of the event. At the beginning of the debate, the House motion is read out. You are able to vote at the beginning of the event. During the event you listen to each of the speakers in turn, giving their argument for and against the motion. At the end of the debate, you vote again. Perhaps your opinion has been swayed by the debate? The House will look at the statistics of voting and determine who is, broadly speaking, the "winner" of the debate. You can find out more on the schedule page (above).

How do I get involved?

This event requires pre-registration to participate on-campus here at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. The event is primarily aimed at schools (16-18 year olds).  However, participation in the online event is open to all levels of education. Please register here or contact us for details on the booking on-campus.
Note: booking for the on-campus event usually commences in January or February and closes shortly after due to popularity of the event.

I have lost my login details?

Please use the contact form within the side bar of this page. Include the name and the email used during registration and we'll email a new one to you.

How will this work at my place of work?

We will supply details which will enable your technical support team to ensure that you can access the conference and supporting streams. Please complete a registration and nominate your technical support contact and we will liaise with them ahead of the event.

What are the requirements for participation in the online stream?

The streaming server requires FLASH enabled clients to view the video streams and listen to the audio streams. Also note that streaming may be relatively bandwidth intensive. If you have any doubts, please contact us to ask for full technical specifications.

Is twitter access required?

It is not essential, but it may help you to feel more involved with the online delegates elsewhere in the world. We will also take questions from twitter for the panel to answer. Even if you are unable to post questions to twitter, you may still be able to view the event's twitter stream. @hwu_mld is the stream and tag your posts with #mld2012 to jon the conversation.

How do I vote?

Voting is conducted online, via the same page as the video stream, by selecting "for" or "against" the motion. Each unique username will have one opportunity to vote before and after the event. We hope to demonstrate the live vote in the conference hall for all participants to view.

Has this event been available online before?

No, this is the first year the event has been streamed.

Will I be able to 'Watch Again'?

This event is live-streamed only.