Grenfell tragedy strikes debate at the University of Exeter

Friday 20th October, hosted by the University of Exeter, saw this week’s final Great Debate Tour. The panellists the Strive Initiative Founder Vere Marie Khan, Senior Data Manager Elizabeth Adeniran and Exeter’s very own ACS President George Trotter. Elevation Network’s Great Debate Tour is the largest UK debate forum which targets Black, Minority and Ethnic students in UK Universities.

Located at the University of Exeter, the event took place inside the Xfi Building Henderson Lecture Theatre. The event began with an introduction led by Chairwoman Shanade Johnson. Johnson. The first question of the night was whether we should have a Black History Month? Each panellist member gave their intake and overview of the following question, deliberating their answers and overall creating a resilient interaction with the audience.

The audience also discussed this topic, alongside the issue of how Ethnic Britain differentiates from previous years to now, particular deliberating ethnic tensions and population breakdowns. Another topic that was brought up was the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire. For this sensitive subject students and panellists looked at what lessons could be learned from the incident. The final topic centred on BAME representation in modern day Britain. Students and panel members debated on representation in variety of institutions and sectors and whether it needed or not and ways it could be improved.

After the debate, discussions continued into the evening with our attendees participating in networking opportunities with the panellists.

The Great Debate Tour covers 15 tour dates at Universities across the country, running throughout Black History Month. For more information about the Great Debate Tour please visit: www.elevationnetworks.org/GreatDebateTour