The 2021 Shanghai Intersholastic Ethics Bowl (SIEB) was held on Feb. 7th with 14 teams from 4 provinces (Shanghai, Beijing, Changshu, and Guangzhou) across the country participating, after the 4-day Moral Philosophy Workshop. The SIEB, for the first time, has taken a hybrid format, in which Shanghai teams gathered in person, while teams from other provinces joined online. This was an adaptation made according to the current pandemic situation in China, where cross-provincial travels are still discouraged.
The day of match begins with some opening remarks delivered by the Ethics Bowl China program director, Leo Huang. The plenary session was also live-streamed via zoom for the online teams.
After the plenary session, both online and offline teams joined their (real or virtual) rooms for the first of the three preliminary rounds. 5 of the 14 teams were participating remotely with each student connecting from a different location. In general, there were three types of matches: offline team vs. offline, online vs. offline, and online vs. online.
Students enjoyed three rounds of constructive and heated ethical discourse, discussing topics ranging from university funding and drone strikes to the relations between human beings and algorithms.
The preliminary rounds concluded at noon. While the staff were busy calculating scores, participants enjoyed their lunch.
Quarterfinals were announced and the afternoon matches began. The final was between SMIC School, Shanghai, and Affiliated High School of SCNU, Guangzhou. The online/offline match was conducted at the main hall.
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 exciting day concludes with some closing remarks from the director.

The Shanghai Intescholastic Ethics Bowl will be one of many regional Ethics Bowls held in the 2021 season. For plans and updates on future Ethics Bowl competitions, please follow us on WeChat platform or visit our official website: https://ethicsbowlchina.com.
Click here for an online album of the 2021 SIEB.