Marist Debate Meeting
The fifth national Marist Hermitage debate meeting, Orizaba 2007, is a forum that permits the incentive of the sharing of ideas, of impressions and of experiences of young students from Marist institutes from the national territory of Mexico, in a set-ting of fraternal life in common.
This meeting between students and brothers of Marist preparatory classes of Mexico took place in Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico on the 3rd, 4th and 5th February. There were numerous values that this meeting promoted: personal study, working as a team, per-sonal motivation, leadership, as well as the respect, tolerance and discipline that are adaptable to the beautiful exercise of a veritable ?battle? with words and knowledge: the practice of debating.
The delegations came from: Montejo University Centre of Mérida Yucatan, Vallado-lid Institute of Morelia Michoacán, Cristóbal Colón College of Tepic Nayarit, Mexico College (Acoxpa) from the Federal District and Mexico College Orizaba.
Thus, once we had gathered we got down to the task of using the power of words and of knowledge while respecting the adversary and his opinions. In a veritable exercise of democracy, tolerance and fraternity, with about one hundred and thirty students, plus fifty judges, thirty moderators and still more people required for the organisation, we held about seventy-five debates around five tables: Science and Technology, Soci-ology, Politics, Economics and Religion.
With subjects such as: ?transgenic corn?, ?legality?, ?obesity?, ?liberation theology?, etc, our students shared ideas, knowledge, lives in an activity that we the Provinces of Mexico have carried out for our senior students for five years.
Objectives of the meeting:
1. To promote a space for life in common for the students of Marist senior institutions of the national territory.
2. To promote debating as a contribution to the development of culture, tolerance and plurality in the country.
3. To propose debating as a tool to increase in the students their capacity of reasoning, critical thought, intellectual curiosity and the art of communication.
4. To promote, through solid debating, the disclosure of knowledge in general, by distinguishing the exact, natural, economic-administrative, social and religious sci-ences.
5. To support the intellectual development of Marist students, promoting their capac-ity for leadership.
6. To materialise the mission of making our students ?good Christians and virtuous Marist citizens?.
7. To strengthen the relationships between Marist students.
8. To make the Marist students aware of the current social, political, economic, tech-nological and religious situation, and to engage them in the seeking of solutions to the problems of our times through respect, dialogue and consensus.
9. Social awareness of the integral formation provided by the Marist institutes of edu-cation.