A Word from Chief Adjudicator 2017
Simona Anca Mazilu
I am honoured and privileged to be part of Heart of Europe once more – this time in an unprecedented position for me: that of Head of the Chief Adjudication Panel.
It will be an entirely new experience for me, and I will spare no effort to live up to and deliver on your expectations, all the more so because I know who has been in charge in this regard before me, and what awesome a job they managed to do every single time.
Enthusiastically embracing the same line of thought and vision, I will see to it that HOE continues to cater to all parties involved, while speaking the language of change, diversity and flexibility. Just like Itumeleng Kenneth Mohanoe before me, I will strive to ensure quality all across the board: from the setting of debate motions to the realm of adjudication and feedback provision.
The current movement among CA panels is to opt for topics that are not only challenging or entertaining to debate but that attempt to educate as well, having become more imaginative, more creative, and clearly broader in scope than they used to be.
We should not forget that debate is more than a clash of ideas or a competitive game: it is also about sharing and celebrating our diversity and uniqueness, about exchanging experience and expanding our horizons, about learning and growing, while speaking our minds and making our voices heard.
HoE 2017 follows through on HoE 2016 in that it aims to serve as a powerful reminder of those simple, yet fundamental values, which more and more debate communities seem to keep forgetting these days, as debate is turning ever more competitive and elitist across the world: debate to learn; debate with honesty; and debate with respect for your discussion partners.
Yes, debaters aim to achieve excellence, yet debate should NEVER turn into an exclusive activity for the chosen few; it should remain inclusive of and open to everyone willing to come on board and join in this multiple challenge.
Debate tournaments like HoE are open to all, providing a friendly forum for students and young people from all over the world to freely discuss issues of both global and common interest. Such a gathering of minds and personalities becomes a springboard for the development of universal intellectual virtues like: intellectual autonomy, intellectual courage, perseverance, fair-mindedness, intellectual empathy, intellectual integrity and intellectual humility – traits which are crucial to building the critical societies of tomorrow.
Welcome to Heart of Europe 2017 – an enlightening, enriching, and empowering adventure for all debate lovers aspiring to…more!
WELCOME!
BINE ATI VENIT!
Simona Anca Mazilu