Geneva Debating Club

What Geneva Debating Club does

The Geneva Debating Club (legal name: Club Genevois de Débat, abbreviated CGD) is a non-profit student association (association étudiante) affiliated with the Université de Genève (UNIGE), founded in 2013 by law students and headquartered at 102 bd Carl-Vogt, 1205 Genève, c/o CUAE. Its stated mission is to democratize public speaking (démocratiser l'art oratoire). The organization operates as a multi-activity education and community platform, delivering weekly debating sessions every Tuesday and Thursday at 18:15 in Uni Mail room 4020, semester-long training formations ('Le Discours en Débat' at beginner and confirmed levels), a free one-day workshop open to the general public ('Oser Parler En Public' / OPEP), multiple annual competitions (Concours Romand d'Éloquence, Concours Démosthène, Joute annuelle), and international debating encounters (Rencontres internationales). It also maintains a content publication platform, 'Espace rhétorique et opinions', where members author signed articles on rhetoric, discourse analysis, and freedom of expression.

The underlying 'technology' is human-delivered pedagogy in rhetoric, argumentation, and public speaking rather than software or automation. Product surface consists of live in-person events, paid training cohorts (priced at 40-120 CHF for beginner and 50-140 CHF for confirmed tiers, with student, UNIGE alumni, and external participant bands), and free entry-point workshops designed to funnel participants into the paid formation stack. Core technology assets include structured debate methodologies, instructor expertise (Dr. Dino Vajzovic as founder and lead trainer, Kahina Merabti as vice-president, Aline Da Costa as confirmed-level trainer), and a content library of competition recordings on a dedicated YouTube channel.

Commercially, the entity is a private non-profit (no IPO, no external investors). Revenue mechanics are limited to formation fees, supplemented by donations and in-kind institutional support from UNIGE, CUAE, and the Ville de Genève. The customer base is concentrated among UNIGE students across all faculties, with secondary participation from the broader French-speaking Swiss university community (UNIL, UNIFR, UNINE) via the Concours Romand d'Éloquence. The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven: free weekly debates and OPEP workshops serve as top-of-funnel, paid semester formations as mid-funnel monetization, and annual competitions as flagship brand-building events distributed across regional university partnerships.

Name

Geneva Debating Club

Legal name

Club Genevois de Débat

Website

https://clubdedebat.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Geneva Debating Club (Club Genevois de Débat) is a non-profit student association at the Université de Genève that runs weekly debates, semester rhetoric formations, annual eloquence competitions, and free public-speaking workshops for students and the general public in French-speaking Switzerland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Speaking and Debate Training

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Adult/Public Speaking Clubs & Community Organizations (EDAMAOAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Debate Tournament & League Organizers (EDAMAOAE), Speech & Debate Competition Preparation (Events, Extemp, Impromptu) (EDAMAOAF), Speech & Debate Camps, Intensives & Bootcamps (EDAMAOAN)

Keywords

• Public speaking training
• Debate training
• Rhetoric education
• Oratory competitions
• Student association

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Formation Fees: Formation fees for semester-long courses in public speaking and rhetoric. Prices vary by participant category (students, UNIGE alumni, external participants).
2. Donations and Support: As a student association, the club may receive donations and support from partners like the University of Geneva and the City of Geneva.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Geneva Debating Club (Club Genevois de Débat) is a UNIGE-affiliated non-profit student association that provides public speaking, rhetoric, and debate training through weekly debates, semester-long formations, one-day workshops, and annual competitions. It serves University of Geneva students primarily and extends its regional footprint via the Concours Romand d'Éloquence, which gathers students from the four French-speaking Swiss universities.

Product overview

The Geneva Debating Club is a student association at the University of Geneva that operates as a multi-activity platform centered on promoting public speaking and oratory skills. Its offerings consist of weekly debating sessions (Mardis Débat on Tuesdays and Geneva Debate Club on Thursdays), structured training programs including the semestrial 'Le Discours en Débat' at beginner and advanced levels, the one-day 'Oser Parler En Public' workshop, and several competitive formats including the prestigious annual 'Concours Romand d'Éloquence' bringing together French-speaking Swiss universities, 'Concours Démosthène', and international encounters. The organization also maintains 'Espace rhétorique et opinions,' a content platform for publishing rhetoric-related articles and opinion pieces. Together, these products form a comprehensive ecosystem for oratory education, practice, and competition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Le Discours en Débat - Niveau Débutant (Beginner Level) Semester-long beginner training program in rhetoric and public speaking fundamentals, led by Dr. Dino Vajzovic. Targeted at 'Amateurs du verbe' with no prior experience required. Pricing is tiered: Students 40 CHF, UNIGE ENS/PAT/Alumni 100 CHF, External 120 CHF.
• Le Discours en Débat - Niveau Confirmé (Advanced Level) Semester-long advanced training for participants who have completed the beginner level or can demonstrate equivalent oratory skills. Co-led by Aline Da Costa and Kahina Merabti, focusing on paraverbal and non-verbal behaviors. Pricing is tiered: Students 50 CHF, UNIGE ENS/PAT/Alumni 120 CHF, External 140 CHF.
• Oser Parler En Public (OPEP) One-day public speaking workshop with personalized follow-up from four rhetoric experts. Includes optional workshops on speech construction, voice strength, and non-verbal communication. Free and open to all with registration, no membership required.
• Mardis Débat Weekly structured debating sessions held every Tuesday evening at 18:15 at Uni Mail, room 4020. Open to all levels of experience and to non-members.
• Geneva Debate Club (Thursday Sessions) Weekly structured debating sessions held every Thursday evening at 18:15 at Uni Mail, room 4020. Second weekly debate session of the club, open to all levels.
• Concours Romand d'Éloquence Prestigious annual eloquence competition bringing together the best orators from the four major French-speaking Swiss universities (Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg, Neuchâtel). Each speaker has 7 minutes to deliver a speech followed by a spontaneous Q&A with the jury.
• Concours Démosthène Annual oratory competition organized by the club, named after the ancient Greek orator Demosthenes.
• Joute annuelle Annual debating competition organized by the club with various oral contests.
• Rencontres internationales International debating encounters and exchanges with partner organizations from other countries.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ active members regularly participating in weekly debates

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ELSA Fribourg (European Law Students Association)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2018Association partner for the 2018 Romand Eloquence Competition, representing the University of Fribourg's participation.
• CRUEL (Université de Lausanne)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2018Association partner for the 2018 Romand Eloquence Competition, representing the University of Lausanne's participation.
• ANED (Université de Neuchâtel)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2018Association partner for the 2018 Romand Eloquence Competition, representing the University of Neuchâtel's participation.
• Université de Genève (UNIGE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013The club is an official student association of the University of Geneva. The university provides venue access (Uni Mail) and institutional support through CUAE. The partnership enables the club to operate as part of the university's extracurricular offerings.
• CUAE (Campus Universitaire d'Exception)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2013The club's administrative address is c/o CUAE at 102 bd Carl-Vogt. CUAE provides administrative support and infrastructure for student associations at UNIGE.
• Ville de GenèvecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2013The City of Geneva is listed as a partner and supporter of the club, providing municipal backing for public speaking initiatives.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Toastmasters International: Global non-profit club-based organization dedicated to public speaking and leadership training through member-led chapters. The closest large-scale analogue to Geneva Debating Club's club-meeting, peer-practice model.
• Oxford Union: The Oxford Union is a university debating society that runs weekly debates, championships, and speaker training — mirroring Geneva Debating Club's combination of weekly sessions, competitions, and member-led governance.
• HEC Paris Debate Club: Student debating society at a major French-language university, operating weekly sessions, training programs, and intercollegiate competitions on the same public-speaking-and-rhetoric vertical.
• Sciences Po Parlons Politique: Sciences Po's debating and civic discourse activities share the French-language, university-anchored, student-organized debating-society format that defines Geneva Debating Club.
• Rostrum International: UK-based voluntary public-speaking club network running regular member-led meetings and speech competitions; analogous to Geneva Debating Club's club-meeting, peer-practice pedagogical model.
• Cambridge Union Society: University-affiliated debating society hosting regular debates, training events, and prestigious speaking competitions. Direct structural analogue with the same weekly-sessions-plus-competition format.

Regional players

• Debating Society of Switzerland: A regional debating association in Switzerland serving university and secondary-school debaters; competes for the same Swiss Romande student population and could host overlapping tournaments.
• Swiss Model United Nations (Swiss MUN): Swiss-focused debating and diplomacy program serving many of the same universities as Geneva Debating Club; partial overlap through competition-style events and Model UN-style public speaking.

Emerging players

• ELSA (European Law Students' Association): Pan-European law-student network that already partners with Geneva Debating Club for the Concours Romand d'Éloquence; operates adjacent moot-court and public-speaking programs that overlap with the club's training offerings.

Broad incumbents

• TED (TEDx program): TED operates a global conference and TEDx licensee program for organized speaking events; while a much larger incumbent, it overlaps thematically with Geneva Debating Club's eloquence competitions and rhetorical training.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCL4McAkaeR1EtE15hb0TEhg
• Facebookfacebook.com/clubdedebat
• LinkedInch.linkedin.com/company/club-genevois-de-d%C3%A9bat
• Instagraminstagram.com/clubdedebat/?hl=fr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Geneva Debating Club