The beginning of the Dutch Anglo-Saxon Parliamentary Debating Institute (DAPDI) goes back to 1989, a year of many great events, such as the beginning of George Bush Senior's term and the student riots in China. Obviously, all these events were firmly overshadowed by the first edition of an event that would change the world of debating forever.

DAPDI basically marked the beginning of parliamentary debating in the Netherlands. Up to that year, there was no real debating activity in our small-but-densely-populated country. DAPDI started a debating culture that would eventually lead to several big debating societies across the nation and some of the best debaters ever!

From the very beginning, the DAPDI has been a joint effort of the Erasmus Debating Society and the Oxford Union. This cooperation has always made sure that DAPDI not has only a good organization, but also has the best possible trainers. In 2008 and 2009, at Oxford's initiative, these debating champions were even joined by their fellow countrymen from Cambridge.

DAPDI has always been a place where debaters from all parts of the world find they have at least one thing in common with everybody else they meet at this event. Talented people from all sorts of backgrounds come together in Rotterdam for one week of superb trainings and debates. You wouldn't want to miss out on that, now would you?