GLOBSEC City Talks Bratislava Debate to be Broadcast as BBC’s Intelligence Squared

As the migration crisis has become one of today’s hottest topics, GLOBSEC 2016 aims to be at the centre of the decision-making efforts. Apart from the community of politicians, diplomats and experts, the broader public has also shown its deep interest in the matter. The migration crisis shall therefore be the focal point of one of GLOBSEC City Talks’ debates, the aptly titled “Migration: Burning Bridges, Building Walls”. This Oxford-style debate is set to be held on 16 April in the Bratislava venue Štúdio L+S and led by renowned international broadcaster Nik Gowing. The BBC World News will broadcast the event as a part of the Intelligence Squared franchise. The initial motion of the debate is “The EU should reimpose national border controls to deal with the migration crisis.”

“The European Union has found itself at a crossroads. The decisions that we make now, are inevitably going to have a historical impact,” comments GLOBSEC founder Róbert Vass. “The importance of this debate is being underlined by the fact that the BBC has decided to broadcast it. It is a great honour for the entire GLOBSEC team,” he adds.

An Oxford-style debate starts with the audience casting votes for (or against) the debate’s initial motion. Each panellist then has a five-minute opening statement. This is followed by audience questions and the discussion itself. The debate is closed by a set of final statements by the panellists, which are followed by the audience casting their final vote which is then compared to the initial one. The shift between the initial and the closing audience votes determines the winner of the debate.

Detailed information on this City Talks’ session speakers will be revealed soon.

The BBC broadcasting schedule will be as follows: Saturday, 23 April at 09.10 and 21.10 GMT, and Sunday, 24 April at 02.10 and 15.10 GMT.