This session is part of the special 2024 Crossover Day. Attendance is open to all SXSW EDU badgeholders as well as all SXSW badgeholders. As always, SXSW strongly believes in the power of mixing creative communities.

Advancing equity means we can’t be afraid to argue. When done well, debate teaches us how to clarify ideas, listen to different perspectives, make strategic choices about what to say and when, and own our differences. By embracing the discomfort of debate and learning to do it well, we become familiar with fear without letting it silence us, even when we only feel 60% ready to speak. This talk reveals how teaching students from diverse backgrounds to question the status quo today can avoid imposter syndrome tomorrow, preparing students to hold on to their voices in a world that rarely agrees.