A round table TV race debate is set for the first week of December organiser Cris Valdez-Dapena revealed last night.

Ms Dapena hit on the idea after witnessing the rancorous meetings on long-term residents, where which saw festering racial tensions spill out.

She said: "What we saw there was raw emotions that didn't have any place to go. What we are hoping here is to use them in a more constructive way.

"So here race is not going to be the foil, it's going to be the actual issue.

"It will be live and unrehearsed, that's what we are hoping will bring in a large audience.

"Just like people watch car races hoping to see a crash, they will tune in to see what comes out of this.'' Ms Dapena, who is President of the Chamber of Commerce, will appear alongside fellow organiser Rolfe Commissiong and six other, as yet unnamed, panelists in a discussion which will last between an hour and 90 minutes.

The panelists, who will represent a wide spectrum of Bermudian society, will be given coaching by a representative from the Diversity Institute just before the show on debating etiquette.

"It's an emotive topic, there's always a danger with a topic where the points of view are polarised that people are more ready to speak than to hear.

"That's the reason we are going to have a preparatory session -- to make it productive.'' "They are a diverse group of people -- everyone will find someone on that panel they can relate to.'' Ms Dapena was unsure what the next stage would be following the TV debate.

She said: "It's an evolving process. It's like Jack and the Beanstalk -- you put seeds in the ground but you have no idea what's going to grow. "We just hope something good grows out of it.'' The moderator also remains a mystery at this stage.

Ms Dapena said it would be one of two candidates with the criteria being that they were foreign, had a deep knowledge of Bermuda's race problem and that they were black.

Ms Dapena is appealing for donations to meet the costs of buying the TV slot which could top $5,000.

She said: "We want this to be paid for by individuals as opposed to business so it's seen as being under popular ownership rather than corporate ownership.'' "We are hoping for the first week of December but we clearly hope it's before the end of the year.'' She said if 100 individuals chipped in between $30 and $50, the target would soon be met.

Sponsors willing to donate cash can ring Ms Dapena on 234-6900. Any excess cash will be returned on a proportional basis.