The sixth edition of the Pan-American Pre-University Debate League of the Universidad Europea del Atlantico (European University of the Atlantic, UNEATLANTICO) has come to an end after an intense debate that proclaimed the ‘Andes College’ team from Ecuador as champions.
The Andes College team, which represented Ecuador in this edition of the League, faced off against the Águilas Preparatorianas team from Guatemala, represented by La Preparatoria school. The topic discussed in this edition was ‘Should Latin American countries have a common policy to address the social and economic problems of the region?’ During the debate, the Andes College team maintained its position in favour, while the Águilas Preparatorianas team defended the opposing position.
The Andes College team, mentored by Professor Jessica Bonifaz and composed of María Paz, Samara Yancha, Doménica Benítez, Damaris Freire and Mayte Abarca, won the victory after a hard-fought debate, in which the difference in points between the winning team and the runner-up was 0.017 points, highlighting the great abilities of both teams. Andes College has thus achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first Ecuadorian team in the history of the UNEATLANTICO LATAM Debate League to win the championship. Their victory highlights the growing talent of the students at this institution at the regional level.
For its part, the Águilas Preparatorianas team from La Preparatoria School, led by teacher Patricia Guzmán, was made up of Dustyn Dmitri Funez, Manuel Ibarra, José Eduardo García, Edson Mazariegos and Diego Sebastián López, who demonstrated their excellent skills after finishing runners-up. It should be noted that the La Preparatoria team has been the champion in Guatemala for two consecutive years. In addition, the captain of the Guatemalan team was named best speaker of the sixth edition of the League.
In the same vein, it is worth highlighting the participation of Paula Quijano, academic director of the degree programme in Translation, Interpreting and Applied Languages (TEL); Mónica García, director of international admissions at UNEATLANTICO; and Héctor D. Somonte, captain of the winning team of the 8th edition of the University Debate League.
Finally, the director of the UNEATLANTICO Debate League, Luis Prado, adds that ‘it is a great satisfaction for the Organising Committee to successfully complete another edition. We reiterate our congratulations to the finalist teams and to all those who participated and improved their communication skills’.