Day Two in Venezuela

Debaters from one semifinal

Day Two has come to the first ever university debate tournament in Venezuela. Let me answer some questions about it that you may have before I get to the results.

The format used was American parliamentary debate with teams of two and three speeches by each team. Each team has five minutes prep time during the debate. The topics were announced well in advance so there was a lot of time to research. There were a number of workshops and practice sessions leading up to the tournament, with one being all day Thursday. The workshops just before the tournament were presided over by Luis Magallan (ex of CSU Fullerton) and Yvanna Cancela (Northwestern University). There were seven preliminary rounds. Teams had indicated whether or not they could debate in English. Some teams debated in English, some only in Spanish, and some in both. Teams were then cleared to semifinals. There were sixteen total teams in the tournament.

The four teams that reached the semifinal round were: UCB VV vs. USM NP, and USB MN vs. UCAB MH. Both rounds were tightly contested and the winners were: UCB VV and USB MN. Tomorrow they will meet in the final round in front of a panel of luminaries from Venezuelan society.

I cannot say enough about the spirit and determination of Rita Moncada. Here is a woman who had a dream and a vision, and she has turned it into a reality. She wants her country to have a more open expression of ideas and wants to stimulate its democracy through preparation of young people for real democratic participation. She has knocked on many doors, sought many allies and paved the way for this tournament. None of this would be here if it were not for Rita. At some point she will be revered and remembered for her tireless work here. For me, that moment has already arrived. Thank you, Rita.

The atmosphere at the end of the semifinals was excellent. People did not wnat to leave (to the consternation of the custodians) as they continued to linger and share their experiences and stories. People seemed very happy, very motivated and hopeful about the future and what they would do in future debates. Those of you with debate experience have seen it, and you probably agree that it is awesome. I love seeing young people get so excited about ideas. I know in that moment that our civilization will survive.

Tomorrow we will have a varied program:

• Judge training for the finals
• Rita Moncada will welcome the crowd.
  
• A speech by me about Venezuela entering the confederacy of debating nations
• The Final Round.
• The judge deliberation and decision.
• The awards assembly: team and speaker awards.
• The end.

I will have a nice afternoon and then make my way down the hill to the airport at the seaside and wait for my evening flight to Chile. I will fly through Lima to Santiago and on to my next debate adventure in Chile.

And the beat goes on...