2015 Celebrations

Welcome back!

In anticipation of our 200th anniversary we will be hosting a series of 'Countdown to 2015' events to bring our members together to celebrate the Union's historic past and to lay out our ambitions for the future. To help us organize this programme of events, please fill in your details and preferences below to register your interest and we will email you to keep you up-to-date.

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The year you joined The Cambridge Union Society as a member

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Choose your event

We want as many of our members to participate in our 200th anniversary celebrations as possible - please select your preferences below to help us make our programme as inclusive as possible.

In 2015 the Cambridge Union Society will be 200 years old. Founded through the amalgamation of several small college debating societies, its mission was – and remains – to promote free speech and to encourage the engagement of young people in the issues of the day. Over the years access to the Union has widened significantly and its ambitions have grown to encompass the promotion of debating and public speaking in other universities as well as in schools and communities across the UK and overseas.

Planning is well underway to celebrate our first 200 years and the Society is keen to involve as many of its members (non-resident as well as resident) in these celebrations. If you are a member of the Society and have not heard from us recently, please fill out our 'stay in touch' form to register an interest in hearing about and joining in our celebration events.

In the meantime, the Society’s continuing commitment both to its wider membership and its founding principles has been re-affirmed through the introduction of our online media collection– cus.connect. This service – which is free of charge and available to all – brings the Society’s debating and speaker programmes to the widest possible global audience. 

Are you an alum of the Universirty but not a member of the Union? You are still eligible to join, and can enjoy a lifetime of benefits by joining online.

Hear how we bring debating to hundreds of schools around the country as part of our charitable mission to promote free speech and the art of debating.

Did you know?

  • The Society is a registered charity, our status derived in considerable measure from our continuing educational work amongst young people.
  • One-half of all freshers continue to join the Society each year making it the single largest and most popular society in the University.
  • We have more than 65,000 members worldwide.
  • We host at least 20 debates and 40 high-profile speaker events each year.
  • Our schools debating competition reaches over 600 schools throughout Great Britain and Ireland and the Society offers significant bursaries to encourage the participation of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
  • Membership fees are the single most important source of revenue for the Society which receives no University or public monies.