Event On : 15 Sep 2018

iLEAD and the US Consulate General, Kolkata hosted the 7th edition of the prestigious Jefferson Debates 2018 on 15th September 2018.

The debate has a rich history and it is the most sought after platforms for speakers from reputed institutions to express their opinions about various burning issues. The participating colleges this year were Sarojini Naidu College, Loreto College, NSHM College, Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology, IISWBM, Army Institute of Management, Heramba Chandra College, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, St. Xavier's College, The Bhawanipore Education Society College, Future Institute of Engineering and Management, Jadavpur University “ Engineering Department, Jadavpur University “ Arts Department, Shri Shikshayatan College and iLEAD.

Throughout decades India and US has business, political and cultural ties. But even with the newspaper headlines stating the latest joint initiatives between India and US from time to time, the role of US in India's economic growth has always been a subject of debate. With the changing in the political and economic atmospheres in both the nations, no one can resist the curiosity of knowing if US is a factor for India's economic development. The motion of the Jefferson Debates 2018 was "The United States is a Key Partner in India's Economic Growth".

The debate was moderated by Mr Jay Treloar, the Assistant Public Affairs Officer of U,S. Consulate General Kolkata and the Deputy Director of the American Center in Kolkata. The judges were Dr Indrila Guha, Principal and faculty in the Department of Economics, Basanti Devi College, Ms Angana Guha Roy Chowdhury, the Deputy Director of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Dieter Bruhn, an entrepreneur, trainer, and teacher, instructional designer and cross-cultural expert with more than 25 years of teaching and training experience.

The 7th edition of the Jefferson Debates witnessed all 15 colleges engage in the battle of logic and words to establish their stance in the motion be it for or against. Everyone experienced the finest standards and quality debates in the world class ambience of iLEAD.

The Awards:

2nd Runners Up: Loreto College

1st Runners Up: St Xavier's College

Winner: Jadavpur University (Arts Department)

Best Speaker: Awstika Roy from Jadavpur University ( Arts Department)