By Nikolai Ordoña

The Ateneo Debate Society won in the 43rd World Universities Debating Championship, held last December 27 to January 4 in Madrid, Spain. 

This is the first time that representatives from the Philippines have won what is considered the world’s largest debate tournament, besting about 260 institutions.

Team Ateneo A, made up of BS Applied Mathematics students Toby Leung and David Africa, were awarded as second and eighth best speakers of the world, respectively, with Leung achieving the highest best speaker position that a Filipino has ever held in the said competition.

Meanwhile, Ateneo B’s Quintin Chua (AB Economics) and Aly Barranda (AB Political Science), ended their run in the tournament’s Open Partial Double Octofinals.

In the tournament’s grand finals last January 4, the teams debated on whether it is preferable to have a world where all persons have a strong belief in the philosophy of Ubuntu, which roughly translates to “I am because we are”, an African philosophical belief that asserts that an individual’s identity should be shaped by the community they belong in. 

Following the British Parliamentary format, the topics were made public only 15 minutes prior to the debate proper.

Standing for the negative argument, Ateneo A stated that a person’s identity should come from their ability to dictate themselves and their primary obligations are to themselves. They added that the “ubuntu” philosophy “alienates you from your very sense of self” and “discourages you from discovering your own preferences.”

In the end, the Ateneo team emerged victorious over other teams from Sofia University (Bulgaria), Tel Aviv University (Israel), and Princeton University (United States).
“My heartfelt congratulations to David Africa and Tobi Leung of our Ateneo Debate Society on their unprecedented, inspiring victory at the World Universities Debating Championship. Their win is proof that our debaters can stand head and shoulders above their peers from some of the best universities in the world. Thank you, David and Tobi, for the immense pride you have brought to the Ateneo community, to our nation, and to the Southeast Asia region. Ad majorem Dei gloriam!,” University President Fr. Roberto C. Yap SJ said in a statement.

Thumbnail from Ateneo Debate Society