*The Debatewise Blog
Moving on through the misty maze
Well this is the end of my penultimate day as an intern working out on one of the four desks on the first floor of Scrutton Street that make up Debatewise's HQ . Sometime the week after next I'm going to be making my last walk from Liverpool Street Station north up Bishopsgate to Scrutton Street (one of the best walks to work in the world because of the contrast between the skyscrapers of the city and the low rise buildings of Shoreditch ) in order to hand over to whoever is replacing me at HQ and leave a card for a certain group of people . After that my four month and a bit stint as an intern here will be completed and It'll be down to preparing to go and study for a Masters at the University of Warwick .
I'm not leaving Debatewise entirely, I'll still be helping with the Rapid Response Team and the WODC as well chipping in where and when I can so this isn't farewell!. But I'm sorry to be leaving a office that has taught me a lot about stepping up to the plate, (the crease for you cricket lovers !) and not just when the pressure is down, being prepared to take on a large amount of different roles and tasks both inside the office and outside (whether it's been writing press releases, administrating the WODC and the site, tweeting as the spokesbird on Twitter, or recruiting people. Oh and to forget getting the chance to get involved in writing and editing some really interesting debates as well as generating . It's been one of the most challenging things I've ever done but it's been really rewarding. So in case I forget a few au revoirs.
I've also met a great people here both past and present at Debatewise, one sentence doesn't do these people justice. Steph calm but really friendly, vibrant and a real driving force in the group, someone who I've really enjoyed being around both inside and outside the office . Dave one of the best people that I've served under whether as a union member or intern etc who's patience and calm instruction as well as edits has been useful. Alex a quiet but intelligent, interesting and funny person who's constant trips around the workspace have been helpful and well received (oh and once again many thanks for the book about Japan's history) . I'm also really grateful to everyone at Bash Studio's (especially those on the first floor) for being nice interesting tolerant people to work around and for clubbing in together to give me some really decent birthday presents such as a red shirt and a 3 dimensional skyline of London that can be set up and taken around with me (Oh and not to forget some taSTY CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!!). I've never received birthday presents from my work or volunteering colleagues before so Domoo Arigatoo guys I really appreciate them. Also just to say I've enjoyed sitting around in the centre of the action whether listening to interesting discussions about aviation the environment or film festivals or care related issues. Thanks also for inviting me to various events too such as a book launch in the House of Commons.
I wish all of you the best in the future whatever you decide to do and wherever you decide to go.
Some final thoughts on my role here and the work that Debatewise does which I've been thinking about for some time. All of this might sound like sentimental neo spirtual trash or disjointed musings but I hope it makes sense and is of value. Yesterday I hosted a panel discussion titled "Navigating through Debating" at an event called Skills Junction which was held in the Pirates Castle at North London. This was an event that was run by Skill the National bureau for Students With Disabilities in order to get people aged between 16-25 interested in volunteering and something that's part of volunteering is thinking about and navigating our way through the various issues whether they're disability related or related to something else like Far East politics. The problem with any set of issues can be obscured in darkness or shrouded in metaphorical mist because they aren't discussed or thought about in depth. So we're shining a bit of light onto a dark or mist by illuminating the different paths and possibly dead ends that make up make up the maze of navigating the various issues. Some parts of the maze are easy to navigate through others aren't. Sometimes we believe we have best compasses that work well whether they're moral, political or ideological . Yet at other times those same compasses lead us, the people around us into possibly the worst pitfalls or dead ends particuarly if we charge headlong into it thinking we're either heading along great straights only to slap hard into a wall because of something that we hadn't considered or that . In a way by providing information about the various issues what we're doing at Debatewise is illuminating parts of the maze by shining light on to the different issues surrounding subjects for example with the possibly the greatest labyrinth or journey of the lot the journey of life. So maybe less people will fall in to those pit falls or miss those turns although maybe some will as people will draw different conclusions on what those pitfalls and dead ends are. Eitherway there's more than one way to travel through life or think about life and maybe we're showing part of the paths that can be taken through it. Any way just my attempt to shed some light on the workings and goals of the "Wikipedia of online debate".
Last but not least not to forget a certain animal and mascot: I don't know what the canine equivalent of sayon nara is Marley but... iie I won't be patronising, somewhere in that brain of yours you know when you're being teased !. However it's been nice knowing you and watching you chase around toys across the room or on the rooftop at breath taking speed avoiding colliding into people and just being a generally friendly dog and I hope you can translate that into dog language!.
Sayonara HQ and Bash Studios. It's been a great few months but it'll be time for me to roll on through the ever changing maze of life once more.