The San Ignacio school (Jesuits) of Pamplona, in the Spanish modality, and the IES Altsasu BHI of Alsasua, in the Basque modality, have been proclaimed winners of the final of the XVII High School Debate Tournament (TDB), which took place in the plenary hall of the Parliament of Navarra. The event has been jointly promoted by the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) and the regional chamber.
As runners-up, the Miravalles - El Redín School of Pamplona, in Spanish, and San Fermin Ikastola of Cizur Menor, in Basque, have finished. The recognition for best speakers has been awarded to Iranzu del Guayo Olave, a student of the Luis Amigó school in Mutilva, in Spanish, and to Jon Elizari Ortiz, a student of IES Biurdana BHI, in Basque.
In Spanish, the winning team from San Ignacio school was made up of Álvaro Buxens Echavarren, Sofía Cruz Gutiérrez, Diego Espinosa Azcárate, Daniel Pozueta Vitoria, and Marta Vigo Aldaz.
From Miravalles - El Redín, the finalists included David Castillo Centeno, Teresa García Marí, Gonzalo Landecho Gortázar, Leire Molinero Alonso, and Blanca Ortega La Rosa.
In the Basque category, the winning group from IES Altsasu BHI was composed of students Mireia Ferrero Marín, Euken Goñi Andueza, Iker Martínez Prado, Urko Amillano Santano, and Laia Suescun Herreros.
Regarding the team that finished in second place, San Fermin Ikastola, its team included Sergio Andueza del Castillo, Amets Armendariz Arteta, Maddalen Etxegaray de Ultzurrun, Nahia Pellizer Barrenetxea, and Elixabete Zabalza Pombo.
Each student from the champion teams has been gifted an electronic tablet and, in the case of the runners-up, each member has received a voucher of 75 euros for the purchase of books and school supplies. In turn, the individuals recognized for their oratory have obtained a voucher of one hundred euros for the same purpose.
Four centers from Pamplona have reached the semifinal stage: IES Basoko and Colegio San Cernin, in Spanish; and IES Biurdana BHI and IES Iturrama BHI, in Basque.
The session has opened with the intervention of the president of the Parliament of Navarra, Unai Hualde, who has contrasted the attitude of the participating individuals with the current political climate, pointing out that "in a society where many times the calm debate is replaced by the sensational effect, insult, and disqualification, it is a joy to witness debates among young students" that contrast opinions with respect, especially in the context of the current pre-campaign for the general elections.
In the same way, Hualde has emphasized that democracy requires citizens capable of expressing their points of view freely and sustaining their ideas, but also "willing to listen and review their own arguments when they discover reasons they had not considered." In this line, he has claimed the role of institutions and has highlighted that the Parliament is a place where words imply great responsibility and where, "despite the difficulties in reaching consensus, the obligation to listen, argue, and respect others must always remain present."
Finally, he has highlighted the value of developing the tournament in a bilingual format, referring to Navarra as a community with a diverse linguistic reality. He has assured that both Spanish and Basque are "essential tools of knowledge, expression, and encounter that enrich communication capacity."
To conclude, Hualde has expressed his recognition to the centers and the teaching staff for betting on an education that transcends the academic curriculum and teaches to coexist, to get involved, and to think with one's own criteria.
"Navarra for many legislatures has had governments that do not have an absolute majority to govern, and, for my way of understanding politics, the need for agreement enriches the legislative work most of the time. And all this debate is exhausting, yes, but also very enriching. One improves their position and also enriches their own personal position by contrasting it with different points of view, different opinions, different arguments, different ways of debating, which is all a learning experience," he added.
In that line, and after highlighting the involvement of the students and teachers in the preparation of their intervention in this meeting, Hualde has thanked the "interest and commitment" of the University for this project and for extending it each year to more educational centers, promoting debates in the two official languages of Navarra.
Among the authorities present were, among others, Gurutze Pérez Artieda, director of the Culture and Dissemination area of the UPNA, Miguel Matellanes Muruzábal, coordinator of academic debate and main judge of the tournament, as well as the parliamentarians Ángel Ansa (UPN), Ibai Crespo, Kevin Lucero (PSN) and Irene Royo (PPN).
The EU's climate policies, the focus of the tournament
The initial phase of the tournament, whose topic for debate has been "Are the EU's environmental policies effective in stopping climate change and achieving the climate goals of 2030?", took place on Friday, October 23, at the Arrosadia campus of the UPNA, in Pamplona. Four centers participated in Basque and sixteen in Spanish.
The TDB is configured as an activity with a formative and competitive vocation aimed at 2nd year Bachillerato students from public and concerted centers in Navarra. It provides an opportunity to enhance skills such as public oral expression, teamwork, critical analysis of information, or the ability to argue. In addition to its interest for personal development, these skills correspond to several of the transversal competencies linked to university degree studies.
The jury has been composed of members of the university community and by people invited by the organization, among them three representatives of the Down Syndrome Association of Navarra, who have participated in this experience for the first time. The tribunal has evaluated aspects such as the quality of the introductions, rebuttals and conclusions, the attitude of the team, the order and clarity of the exposition, the interest and simplicity of the speech, the confidence and mastery of the topic, the ability to improvise, the appropriateness of the language and the agility in the replies.
In this edition, around a hundred students have participated. In the Spanish category, the participating centers have been: IES Basoko, IES Navarro Villoslada, IES Plaza de la Cruz, Colegio Calasanz Escolapios, Colegio Dominicas, Colegio Irabia-Izaga, Colegio Hijas de Jesús (Jesuitinas), Colegio Miravalles-El Redín, Colegio Nuestra Señora del Huerto, Colegio Sagrado Corazón, Colegio San Cernin, Colegio San Ignacio (Jesuitas), Colegio Santa Teresa, and Colegio Vedruna (all of them from Pamplona); as well as Colegio Adériz (Cordovilla) and Colegio Luis Amigó (Mutilva). In the Basque modality, four centers have participated: IES Altsasu BHI (Alsasua), IES Biurdana BHI, IES Iturrama BHI (both from Pamplona), and San Fermin Ikastola (Cizur Menor).