One of my favourite memories from preparing for our EU debate in Italy was the time we spent working together as a team. Our geography teacher, who is also the vice principal of our school, organised special preparation sessions for us. I remember one of those afternoons clearly. It was during the school days, right after our school’s music festival, when we all gathered in one of the classrooms, excited and curious about what was ahead of us. The debate topics were serious and challenging: war, migration, climate change, hunger, and poverty. At first, they seemed overwhelming, but our teacher helped us approach them step by step. We divided the topics among ourselves and searched for reliable information. Once everyone had collected their research, we brainstormed together in class. While we shared our ideas, our teacher typed everything into a Word document that was projected onto the classroom screen. Seeing our thoughts appear in front of us made it much easier to organise the information and remember the important details. It also showed us how different perspectives could come together to create a stronger argument. One interesting part of the preparation was that we worked in Hungarian first. It was easier to express our thoughts and discuss complex issues in our native language. Later, we translated and adapted everything into English, which helped us improve not only our knowledge of the topics but also our English communication skills. It was challenging at times, but it gave us confidence to express our opinions in an international setting. Looking back, those preparation sessions were much more than studying for a debate. They taught us how to research, cooperate, think critically, and communicate effectively. Most importantly, we enjoyed every moment of working together. The experience brought us closer as a team and prepared us well for representing our school at the EU debate in Italy.
Nikolász Princz, 10th B
