We’ll spend some time with the kids who call Speech & Debate home. Each competitor has their own unique story to tell. We hang out with a few of the kids and get to know them—what they do for fun and what they care about.

We visit our second tournament, a holiday-themed winter event.

Policy Debate is its own animal. It’s fast, intense, and not for the soft-spoken.

We’re introduced to The Portland Urban Debate League. From their website: PUDL empowers students through competitive policy debate to become engaged learners and critical thinkers who are effective advocates for themselves and their community

We attend our third tournament—a policy debate focused, Tournament of Champions qualifying event.

The impacts of participating in Speech & Debate last for a lifetime. In this episode, we hear from alumni of the activity, as they tell us of the resounding positive effects competing in Speech & Debate had on their lives.

The season concludes. It’s been a long and arduous year, but our featured speakers are now in their best shape. Their speeches are polished and perfected. It’s time to see who’s the best.

We’re there for all the action at the District and National qualifiers, as well as the biggest tournament of the year, the State Championship.

Ultimately, this series amplifies the message of the Speech & Debate community: that everyone's voice deserves to be heard. Speech & Debate is uniquely a "no cut" sport. Everyone can participate; everyone can compete. Any Speech kid could easily tell you why this activity is important to them. It's not at flashy as sports, not as recognizable as the winter musical, but Speech & Debate fosters confidence, spontaneity, self-discovery, individual expression, grace under pressure, and so many other skills that life requires.

Director and the Creator of Our Next Speaker, Dino Coons, participated on the Speech & Debate team for Clackamas High School, located outside of Portland, Oregon. He’s quick to brag about his success (two-time State Champ, baby!) but is also eager to credit his time on the team as having an outsized impact on the man he became.

Dino has spent the last 15+ years working in the film & TV industry, primarily in the worlds of documentary and animation. He feels that the experience he’s gained since leaving the Speech & Debate team has provided him with a unique combination of skills and perspective to tell this story.

Covid happened. Some of the kids currently participating in Speech & Debate had to do tournaments entirely online. They gave speeches to webcams, not people. Now, by contrast, they’re back to getting up early on a Saturday and spending the day hanging out with their best friends, meeting new people and being immersed in an environment of friendly competition.

We hope that this series inspires a new generation of young people to discover their unique voices and find new ways to raise them up and change the world. Speech & Debate not only endows them with skills and confidence they’ll carry with them into the future, but it platforms them to talk about issues that matter. These are the leaders of tomorrow. It has to be now.

The Portland Art Museum - Center for an Untold Tomorrow (PAM CUT) is acting as our Fiscal Sponsor. That means that all donations to the project, including those made through this crowdfunding campaign, are completely tax deductible!!!

Check out the link below if you'd like to know more about PAM CUT and their amazing programs!