What an outstanding night we had at the inaugural CAIK Great Debate!
The UTS FASS CAIK Great Debate dream team standing against sky backdrop. Left to right: Heidi Norman, Steven Oliver, Shannon Foster, Alison Whittaker, Terri Janke, Sandra Phillips, Chelsea Bond, Wesley Enoch and Leon Filewood.
Our fearless Debate Captains Professor Heidi Norman and Associate ProfessorSandra Phillips expertly lead their teams into the debate fray, and the brilliant, thoughtful and sometimes hilarious contributions from all of our stellar debaters made for an unforgettable evening.
Ticket sales for the event raised over $3000 for the Literacy for Life Foundation, an Aboriginal-led charity, training Aboriginal people to bring literacy to their communities.
Debate team members included ABC Black Comedy legend Stephen Oliver, powerhouse thought leader Associate Professor Chelsea Bond, Sydney Festival Director Wesley Enoch, 2018 Deadly Funny champion Leon Filewood, artist educator Shannon Foster and poet/Harvard Fulbright scholar Alison Whittaker.
We polled the audience before the debate started and only 40% thought Love was all we needed. The debate that ensued was powerful, raw, thoughtful, entertaining and there were brilliant truth-bombs dropped by members of both teams.
When the dust settled it appeared that the audience of skeptics had been won over – at least temporarily - because after the debate 61% agreed that love is all we need.
Terri 'Justice' Janke, our esteemed Debate Chair and Judge, also gave her expert analysis of the debate and agreed that Love won the night.
More than 350 came and joined in and we even trended on Twitter! Search for #utscaikdebate and just keep scrolling once you find it. There are so many fantastic tweets from our audience and teams that it’s almost like being there.
You can also experience (or re-experience) the debate for yourself:
VIDEO
And the icing on the CAIK (yes we really just did that) is that the audience collectively raised over $3000 for the Literacy for Life Foundation with their ticket sales. Literacy for Life is an Aboriginal led charity training Aboriginal people to bring literacy to their communities.
Indigenous education, thought-leadership and love. All in one great night!
Some golden quotes from the night, many of which were tweeted by our excellent audience:
“We lived 40, 50, 60 thousand years without money. But as long as there have been mothers there has been love…”
Steven Oliver, Affirmative Team
“If you’re Aboriginal love is definitely not all you need. Blackfullas, we have love in droves! We love Country, we love culture! We love each other! If love is all we need why do we also need a treaty? Confirmation of Aboriginality papers? A basics card? A lawyer?”
Shannon Foster, Negative Team
“There is nothing that ever happened in a Black neighbourhood, that wasn’t done off of a Black woman’s love of her community…we would be nowhere without it… No matter what confounds us, its love that pulls us up… love of justice, freedom, community.”
Dr Chelsea Bond, Affirmative Team
“Love itself was never enough to sustain a relationship that would lead me to a life time of misery, sorry, I mean marriage… please note - Exhibit A - my romantic life - which I humbly submit is more than compelling evidence to prove - love is NOT all you need.”
Leon Filewood, Negative Team
“Love is what a community and its Elders do when they revive languages, cultural practices, and caring for Country. Love is what my Nan and Pop did when they housed dozens of people in a one bedroom house on the Namoi… Love is Nicky Winmar pointing at his chest in defiance, love is Adam Goodes doing that war dance.”
Alison Whittaker, Affirmative Team
"The word love is not all we need to express the breadth of human actions… Modern versions of the concept of Love are often driven by commercial opportunism… part of the systematic subjugation of our society… ”
Wesley Enoch, Negative Team
“Love helps make the babies of the continuing revolution. It keeps us strong and connected in the face of the Colonial Project… It is what makes us – now 3% of the Australian population – turn up every day and keep punching above our weight.'”
Sandra Phillips, Affirmative Team
“It will take more than love for the Uluru statement from the Heart to be realised. We need kindness, empathy, justice and connection in order for our country to honour its 60,000+ year legacy, we will need all of our effort. We need more than love in order to address the big issues of our time … and more dancing.”
Heidi Norman, Negative Team
Some brilliant pics from the night!
Image above depicts the individual team members for the Affirmative presenting their argument. Clockwise left to right: Chelsea Bond, Steven Oliver, Sandra Phillips and Alison Whittaker.
Image above depicts the individual team members for the Negative presenting their argument. Clockwise left to right: Wesley Enoch, Shannon Foster, Heidi Norman and Leon Filewood.
Image above depicts Terri Janke, our esteemed Chair and Expert Judge for the Debate. Clockwise left to right: Terri sitting on her heart-shaped Judge's throne; Terri posing in front of sky backdrop; Terri at the lectern laying down the rules.
Image above depicts the Great Hall at UTS, with the debate teams on stage at their tables and the audience listening to Terri Janke speak at the lectern.
Image above depicts a flashmob of dancers in front of the Great Hall stage with Terri Janke and Shannon Foster on stage speaking into microphones.
Image above depicts Chelsea Booth speaking at the lectern with all of the other debaters in the background listening and laughing.
Image above depicts Terri Janke and the debaters raising their arms and cheering as they get a group photo onstage with the audience behind them.
Image is the group photo of the debaters and Terri, with the audience behind them. Everyone is standing, raising their arms and cheering. It's awesome.