Robert College hosted the ninth annual Eurasian Schools Debating Championship (ESDC) during the first week of the semester break, on January 20-25, 2019. With ever-increasing international participation, 39 teams from all over the globe, including Indonesia, Poland, South Africa, Greece, Pakistan, and Turkey, attended the tournament.
ESDC is one of the preparation stages for the World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC), and the only tournament organized by high school students, hence it attracts many national teams and debaters from a range of countries each year. ESDC is also the only international debating tournament in Turkey.
The motions (topics) of this year's debates ranged from economics and health policies to feminism and human rights. Debaters were engaged in global issues, ethics, and international politics; they were challenged, excited and inspired.
Greeze-Mzansi, a mixed team consisting of the South African and Greece National Teams became the Champion of EDSC 2019, after winning the final round over Team LGS Paragon from Pakistan, debating the motion "This House would prefer a world in which there is no belief in an afterlife."
Four teams from the Robert College Debate Society participated in the tournament. The RC Mitchell team made it to the quarter finals, where they faced the runner-up of ESDC 2019, LGS Paragon.
