2020/04/16 【Important: QDO 2020 cancelled】 is added

2020/03/16 Organizing Committee (2020) is added to this page.

2019/08/09 Sponsor Page is updated.

2019/08/09 Time Schedule is updated.

2019/08/08 Announcement of QDO 2019 is added to this page.
2019/08/01 Sponsor Page is updated.

2019/07/24 The time schedule is added to this page.

2019/07/24 Information about observers and audiences are added to the registration page.

2019/07/22 Supporter page is updated.

Dear Debaters,

We hope that all of you are doing well, staying safe and healthy.

It was a very tough decision, but unfortunately, we have to inform you that Kyushu Debate Open (QDO) 2020 has been cancelled.

As you are very aware, as of 16^th April, over 2 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed globally in almost all countries and regions, and they have taken about 130 thousand lives. In Japan, over 8 thousand cases and over a hundred deaths have been reported. In Fukuoka prefecture where Kyushu University is located and QDO was about to be held, COVID-19 is rapidly spreading, as of 6^th April, the number of patients had increased sixfold in a week.

Regarding situations above, the Japanese government and local governments are now introducing much stronger measures to stop the spread of infections in order to save more lives by preventing a collapse of medical system. On 7th April, the Japanese government declared a "state of emergency" for a month to 7 prefectures (Tokyo metropolis and Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures). Those prefectural governments now have legal powers to ask and tell schools, and other commercial or public facilities to be closed.

In response to this emergency situation, Kyushu University has announced that it will postpone the beginning of the spring quarter and will make all lectures and seminars online during the quarter, and possibly longer. Face-to-face club activities are now banned and holding events are highly discouraged.

Also, Tokyo 2020 Olympic/Paralympic games are now postponed for one year. This means that the Japanese government is less likely to remove or soften current travel restrictions by August.

Regarding participants' safety as our first priority, especially since QDO is an international tournament, the Organizing Committee of QDO 2020 has come to a conclusion that it is completely impossible to continue the preparations as scheduled.

We've also discussed alternatives, such as postponing, scaling down, or hosting online, but it is very hard to achieve QDO's added values (commitments to SDGs, face-to-face international exchanges, cultural experiences, education, academic conferences for sharing ideas, etc.) through these alternative measures. In addition, the global pandemic is still uncertain to be contained in a short period. Therefore, we've decided to cancel QDO 2020.

We offer our sincerest apologies to those who were planning to come to the tournament.

Though the tournament was cancelled, the Organizing Committee will continue to work for committing SDGs and other values as well as a tournament branding and preparations for QDO 2021. Further information will be posted on our Website, Facebook and Twitter.

We thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation.

We hope to see you in QDO 2021.

Organizing Committee of QDO