The Embassy of France and The George Washington University invite students from around the world to join us for The Lafayette Debates.  Beginning with French- and English-language online debates and multimedia competitions, The Debates  will culminate in a national intercollegiate debate tournament hosted by the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies of The George Washington University.  By participating in these events, the best and brightest student debaters will have an opportunity to engage with prominent international relations scholars and professionals on issues of political, social and cultural significance to citizens of not only the French Republic and the United States, but also the world.

Special thanks to our partners who have assisted in making The Lafayette Debates possible, including The Civis Institute, the University of Southern California and The Open Society Foundations. 

The resolution for The Lafayette Debates, 2013-14, is:

Resolved:  Cultural activities, goods and services should not be treated as solely having commercial value.

All of the online debates will be recorded using IDEA's Vbates iplatform. Instructions are available at https://www.tabroom.com/files/tourns/2271/postings/3594/LDO-Howtotakepartinavbate.pdf