High School students are getting ready for the Debate League!

Formació de la Lliga de debat de Secundària i Batxillerat 2020

The boys and girls who will participate in the 5th edition of the local phase of the Debate League of the Autonomous University of Barcelona enjoyed last Thursday a training session prior to the competition. The event took place during all the morning in the Theatre Hall, where the local phase will be held.

28/01/2020

The schools that will participate in the High School Debate League of the UAB already know the space where they will have to debate this edition. They met this Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Theatre Hall of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and knew, among other things, the topic they will have to discuss in the debates: “does technology increase happiness?”

The call, which was a success, brought together virtually all the institutes that will take part in this first phase that will be held at the UAB. In total, more than 130 students enjoyed a training and informative day, in which they also had the opportunity to meet the members of other teams.

“Does technology increase happiness?”
The Vice-rector for Students and Employability, Dr. Sara Moreno Colom, welcomed the teams to the UAB and presented the topic of the debate, which is very close to young people: “Does technology increase happiness?” From now on, participants will have to look for arguments for and against this topic in order to prepare the discussions. The Vice-rector has also advised them to distance themselves from their world, to “enter into the world of knowledge and research” to thinking about the concept of technology from different perspectives. She also stressed the importance of using non-sexist language in all debates, which, as she has recognized, “young people have already incorporated and we want to give it from here the importance it deserves”.

Then, Eulàlia Torras, professor at the Language Service of the UAB, spoke precisely about non-sexist language and gave some clues on how to deepen this field. In this way, students will be able to enrich the debate by taking into account other aspects beyond the subject in question. In this regard, Andrea Ruedas, a technician at the Observatory for Equality of the university, spoke about the "gender perspective in the Debate League".

Besides, Edward Bernal, the winner of the University Debate League of the UAB, gave the keys to master the technique of debate. In this case, Bernal, graduated in political science and law, provided different resources to succeed in the competition. He said that the debate begins on the day when the subject to be discussed is known, and he encouraged the preparation of the topic from the outset. He said that non-verbal language is also very important to convince people of the message being conveyed, “so we also have to prepare it for the time of the debate”.

Ana Valencia and Xavier Alejandre, heads of judges, explained the functioning of the League. The different teams will face each other knowing, at the beginning, whether they must discuss for or against the topic, until the semifinals. In the latter phase they will discover it just before starting to debate. The winner of this local phase will go to the final phase that will be held at Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona from 22 to 24 April 2020.

Draw and taking a stand
This Tuesday, 28 January, the captains of the 24 teams will draw lots of the pairs for the Debate League, which will be held during the last week of February. The teams that will be in this draw and that could face each other are the following:

Col·legi Camí
Col·legi Creanova
Escola Cultura Pràctica
Escola Ginebró
Escola Pia Caldes
Gresol International-American School
INS Pau Claris
INS Can Roca
INS Jonqueres
INS La Pineda
Institut El Vern
Institut-Escola Les Vinyes
Institut-Escola Sant Jordi
INS Jaume Mimó
INS La Vall del Tenes
INS Nicolau Copèrnic
INS Ramon Casas i Carbó
INS Torre de Malla
INS Poeta Maragall
INS Tretzevents Waldorf-Steiner
INS Gallecs
INS Ramon Berenguer IV
Maristes La Immaculada
Col·legi Cor Immaculada de Maria

Captains, besides the couples, will also discover the stance they must defend in the first rounds.
Soon will begin this week where the academic debate, as well as high school students, will be at the center of the University. The day after the draw the teams will be able to start looking for the relevant arguments, although as the speakers said in their speeches, the preparation for the debate starts from day one!
Good luck to the teams!