GW Students Ranked High at International Debate Championship

A group of George Washington University students in the GW Debate and Literary Society represented the university at the Transatlantic Dialogues Championship at the École de Guerre in Paris. The annual policy debate and civic diplomacy competition brings student teams from the United States and Europe to defend policy proposals and build common ground on major international issues before expert judges.

GW seniors Ritsika Chekuri, an international affairs major, and Avalon Ayres, a philosophy major, along with recent alumna Faith Liberatore, B.A.'26, advanced through the championship round and earned third place overall. Ayres also received the tournament's Top Speaker Award as the competition's highest-ranked individual speaker. As finalists, the students presented and discussed policy recommendations with senior defense officials at the French Ministry of the Armed Forces. The students presented carefully researched recommendations on strategic issues that were actively shaping conversations among allied policymakers and military leaders. The students were also interviewed by the École de Guerre about their research, their policy recommendations, and their perspectives on the future of the transatlantic relationship.