The IX DALE (Debate Academico de Lideres Estudiantiles) conference was held March 25-26 at Hotel Camino Real Managua, leaving great memories for those who participated in the event. Students got to express their ideas on how to make the world a better place, and in the process, they sharpened their problem-solving skills.
In the past years, DALE has faced a lot of challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic that was affecting everyone for the past two years. Delegates were unable to practice for the conference since all in-person practice debates were cancelled. These were usually hosted at the ANS campus but that problem was overcome by virtual conferences. Evidently the quality and experience are not the same as being in person, but in thriving times sometimes you have to get comfortable with what you have.
Delegates were eager to go back to debating in-person and other first timers were excited to share their thoughts and have new experiences among new people.
Here are some award-winning students telling us their experiences in DALE:
Carlos Hondoy, the CELAC 2nd honorable mention award winner said:
“I decided to join CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) for my first experience at a DALE conference, CELAC is a futuristic committee where you debate about problems that could be present in the year 2050 and as a group try to find solutions ASAP since the lives of many depend on your diplomacy. Since it was my first time ever debating at DALE, I had a lot of nerves at the beginning but I was told that was normal and that once you get the hang of things everything goes natural. At first I was a bit shy, but when I started to get comfortable things took a drastic change since the debates started getting increasingly interesting and competitive. During this time I really used my problem-solving skills which proved to be helpful since they are what basically got me an award which I am thankful for. After all, for a first timer I guess 2nd place honorable mention award ain’t that bad.”
When interviewed Mayte Cruz, the Press Corps 2nd place winner said:
“For me, DALE was an incredibly enriching experience. It was my second time going but my first being part of the Press Corps and my first in-person congress. It was everything I expected and more! With the help of my amazing chairs, Ana Carolina Bendaña and Janice Torrez, I was given all the tools to reach success and it was up to us to use them to the best of our abilities. Although it was a lot of work, it was extremely fun and I truly cannot overstate how much I loved the conference. The way in which all the committees debated was amazing and in my eyes, everyone was a winner. I truly didn’t expect to win anything and gave it my best because I actually enjoyed it, not necessarily because I was aiming for anything. I also got to meet many amazing people and collaborate with them which was truly amazing because it formed a sense of unity that I didn’t think was possible to achieve in two days. All-in-all, the IX Congress of DALE was an incredible experience that I can’t recommend enough. Emotions ran high, we laughed together, we stressed together, and celebrated together for two days and became a family.”
Dale’s Mission Statement:
“Our mission is to foster a culture of debate, dialogue and discussion of ideas, based on the principles of integrity, tolerance and respect in Secondary school youth; to create a leadership that reflects political, academic, social and cultural awareness necessary in today’s society.”
It is more than evident that they are fulfilling their mission, many students agree that when they start debating it is something that changes their way of thinking and makes you have an open mind about topics you probably didn’t even think about, that’s where the love for debating starts and from there it only grows bigger every day.
After two full days of debating, disagreements and agreements, delegates always come to a mutual ground of respect which serves as a reminder of the importance of diplomacy and respect in conferences of any nature, and how conferences can see themselves affected to a violation of either of those.
