The Artillery Academy Debate is an annual tradition for the Debate Club where a team of IE students debates against a team of the Spanish Artillery Academy. The theme this year was “NATO & Future challenges.”
Within this pertinent theme, each team argued for and against multiple sub-topics, namely: NATO increasing their budget; new scenarios in light of the Ukrainian situation; weaponization of migrants in times of war; and the creation of a joint European army.
As per tradition, the event was held in Segovia. This year, though, were special speakers, including Miguel Larrañaga, the Vice-Rector of student affairs at IEU, and Coronel Director Alejandro Serrano Martínez of the Spanish Artillery Academy. Upon finishing the debate, students had the opportunity to network with all the participants, socializing with students from the artillery academy too.
The purpose of the event, akin to many other of the debate club’s events, was to bring together like-minded students to discuss and debate topics of international importance. This debate was special as it included broader topics, meaning more preparation of speeches and rebuttals. To ensure that the debate was as interactive and fruitful as possible, the debate team was thoroughly supported. The team was under the guidance of the club advisor/coach Kevin Febres, Maria Rouchota, Antoine Brimbal, Isabella Miller, and Olivier Baeten, along with the moderator Alisher Akhmadjonov.
The team enforced IE Values. The highlights encompassed innovation and diversity, as students were faced with the challenge of having to defend diverse perspectives, some that they personally may not support. Being placed in this position paved the way for exciting debates with multiple points of view.
