About ISDS: Indian Schools Debating Society in 114, Velachery Road, Guindy, Chennai

What is ISDS?
The Indian Schools Debating Society (ISDS) is a not-for-profit organization that aims to take competitive debating to students across India. Since its inception in 2008, ISDS has taken on activities every year to encourage students to take up debate as an activity and think critically.

What does ISDS do?
A pioneer in bringing the ‘World Schools’ format of debating to India, ISDS continually trains young Indians with the assistance of the best debaters from India and around the world. In addition to equipping students, ISDS also frequently hosts teacher training programmes to integrate debating into teaching school curriculum, while also orienting teachers into the process of being on adjudication panels in debating tournaments.

How has ISDS improved networks and access?
ISDS initially spread its activities all over Chennai, slowly building much needed expertise before beginning to expand its activities to schools in Bangalore, Delhi, Dehradun, Trivandrum, Cochin, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Pune. ISDS has provided coaching in debate to hundreds of students between the ages of 13 and 18. Furthermore, ISDS has reached out to over 300 teacher coordinators from over 150 schools in 2016-17 alone, introducing them to debating, and enabling them use debating in pedagogic methods.

How have ISDS teams performed internationally?
ISDS has represented India in international debating competitions, including the World Schools Debating Championship (2008-2015), Russell McVeagh Debating Championships, New Zealand (2011), and the Asia World Schools Debating Championship (2014, 2016).
In just its 3rd year at the World Schools Debating Championship, the team representing India managed to break to the top 16 teams. Since then, ISDS has broken 3 other teams, and their speakers have also routinely placed among the Top 10 English as a Second Language speakers. Due to this success, team India has been classified as a status B nation, i.e., among the top 14 nations at the tournament. In addition, Team ISDS India was crowned the champion of the Asia World Schools Debating Championship 2016 that was held in Bangkok.

For further details: http://www.indianschoolsdebatingsociety.com/
For more information on the history of ISDS, and how it operates: http://www.indianschoolsdebatingsociety.com/about-isds/

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