DEbate
Call for applications to the English-Language Debate Competition
for High School Students
The Institute of English and American Studies of the University of Debrecen, the U.S. Embassy, Budapest, and the American Corners in Hungary are happy to announce the ninth national, English-language debate competition for high school students in Hungary.
Students can apply in teams of three under the supervision of a teacher by submitting a 10- to 15-minute-long creative, argumentative video project on the topic specified below with research-based evidence and arguments. The video projects will be assessed by a panel of experts, who will evaluate the strength of the arguments, the creativity involved in their presentation, the quality of language used, as well as the team members’ cooperation and presentation skills. Make sure every team member has a role on screen.
The top teams submitting the most creative and best-argued video projects will get the chance to prove their debating skills in person using the Karl Popper format. In-person semi-finals will take place in January/February 2027, with the in-person grand finals planned for the spring of 2027.
Similarly to previous years, students can compete for valuable prizes offered by the organizers and our sponsors.
This year’s topic for the video projects:
Possible Drivers of U.S.–Hungary Relations
What really connects the United States and Hungary and what can one real example reveal about their relationship?
For your video project, choose one case study that catches your interest: a specific agreement, project, dispute, or other example connected to U.S.-Hungary cooperation in, for example, trade, energy, or culture. Explore what happened, why it matters, and what it can tell us about the wider relationship between the two countries.
Please first register for the competition by October 22, 2026 using the following link: https://forms.gle/XqXCmwhR2t5tKcBh7
Then, send the link to your team’s video by November 23, 2026 to debatedebrecen@gmail.com
For more information, see our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/debateIEAS
or contact us at debatedebrecen@gmail.com
