What is the Ethics Bowl?

The Ethics Bowl is, as its name suggests, a discussion on ethical issues. It takes the form of a debate (where two teams exchange ideas with each other), but it is, in essence, different from a debate. In the Ethics Bowl, teams do not aim to prove the other side wrong. Instead, they engage in constructive and respectful dialogue to demonstrate their ability to think critically and collaboratively on contentious ethical issues. It is the mission of the Ethics Bowl to promote respectful, supportive, and in-depth discussion of ethics among pre-college students, thus preparing them to navigate challenging ethical issues in a complex moral and political community.

What is the Ethics Bowl China?

The Ethics Bowl was initially an event for US college and high school students. It was introduced to China in 2019 as an International Affiliate of the US Ethics Bowl and was first known as the Shanghai Interscholastic Ethics Bowl (SIEB). The EBC now oversees four regional Ethics Bowls across the country and provides all kinds of support for our regional organizers, including promotions, fundraising, material design, and international collaboration opportunities with our partners. Each year, hundreds of students participate in Ethics Bowl competitions held by our regional affiliates and our nationwide Ethics and Philosophy Workshops. The EBC is also the co-organizer of several international Ethics Bowl events (see below).

Recent Updates

2022 Ethics Bowl China

The 2022 Ethics Bowl China is held online from August 9th to 11th. For the first time, the program includes a Chinese division, with five teams participating using Chinese throughout the matches. 22 teams from across the country joined the English Ethics Bowl. Workshops were held in July with experts from Ethics Bowl communities around the world.

2021 Winter Moral Philosophy Workshop

The 2021 Winter Moral Philosophy Workshop is a 4-day (1/31 - 2/3) seminar series led by 7 professionals in ethics from across the globe. Over 130 students from 26 schools participated in the workshop. The seminar topics include moral relativism, just war, the Eichmann Trial and the use of examples in ethical reasoning, the four mapping techniques for analyzing ethical cases, and ethics in the criminal justice system, etc. Our sincere gratitude to the speakers (in order of their seminars): Matt Deaton, Yan Li, Emily Muller, Raymond Sokalski, Nova Martin, Matthew Wu, and Ava Truthwaite. And special thanks to Estelle Lamoureux for her generous support that made this workshop possible!

2021 Shanghai Interscholastic Ethics Bowl

In the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak in China, we are fortunate to hold the 2021 Shanghai Interscholastic Ethics Bowl on Feb. 7th – in a hybrid format, with Shanghai teams gathering in person and teams from other provinces participating remotely. 14 teams from Shanghai, Beijing, Changshu, and Guangzhou enjoyed a full day of constructive discussions on ethical dilemmas. Congratulations to SMIC School from Shanghai for claiming first place! They were followed by Affiliated High School of SCNU, Guangzhou, in second place, and Shanghai Pinghe School in third place.

The Ethics Bowl Symposium

The Ethics Bowl Symposium is an online platform developed for the 2021 Winter Moral Philosophy Workshop, and will also used for future workshops and seminars. The Symposium platform, based on Moodle LMS, allows students to manage course schedules, complete assignments, cross-assess each other's work, co-edit wiki pages and glossaries, download course materials, and join forum discussions during the workshop.

International Events

Ethics Across Our Borders

Ethics Bowl China, Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties

On Feb. 28th, we held the first-ever Ethics Across Our Borders with the Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties in Canada. As its name suggests, the Ethics Across Our Borders fosters collaborative and respectful discussions on ethical dilemmas among students in a worldwide community. Students from 9 schools in Manitoba, Shanghai, Guangdong, Connecticut, and Massachusetts joined us in the program. The event took an ethics café format, where in each round, students are placed in heterogeneous groups of six to seven in breakout rooms led by moderators.

International Ethics Bowl/Olympiad Program

Ethics Bowl China, Ethics Olympiad

The International Ethics Bowl/Olympiad connects teams from China, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

Regional Affiliates



Shanghai Interscholastic Ethics Bowl

The Shanghai Interscholastic Ethics Bowl (SIEB) is the first Ethics Bowl event in China, based at No.2 High School of East China Normal University. So far, it has held two formal Ethics Bowls in 2020 and 2021, both online and offline.



Sichuan Chapter, Ethics Bowl China

The Sichuan Chapter of the Ethics Bowl China (SCEBC) is based at Jiaxiang Foreign Language School in Chengdu, Sichuan. The first SCEBC was held in person on August 13th, 2020.



Shenzhen High School Ethics Bowl

The Shenzhen High School Ethics Bowl is based at the Shenzhen College of International Education. The first competition there will be held in summer, 2021.



Xi'an High School Ethics Bowl

The Xi'an High School Ethics Bowl is founded in alliance with the Academic Debate Association of China. Its first Bowl will be held in early autumn, 2021.

Join Us!

We are actively recruiting and supporting regional Ethics Bowl organizers as our affiliates. The Ethics Bowl China provides all kinds of support for our affiliates, including promotions, fundraising, material design, and international collaboration opportunities with our partners. If you are interested in starting a regional Ethics Bowl competition in China, please free feel to contact the director at info@ethicsbowlchina.com.