Madeleine Tempelman (18), a student of the Vossius Gymnasium in Amsterdam, was declared the winner of an international debate tournament last weekend. More than 120 students from all over the world gathered in Copenhagen to debate.
Madeleine has been debating since she was fourteen. “I have an older brother and sister, we like to argue at home. If I have to believe my parents, they don’t say no often enough.”
People who can debate well sometimes end up in political The Hague. Still, she doesn’t see herself walking around there later. “I like to convince someone. In politics they talk all day, but they don’t convince each other. They stick to their own point of view.”
Tricky topics
The debates during the tournament included artificial intelligence in the legal system and European migration policy. “Difficult subjects”, according to Madeleine. “Some statements are also only given an hour in advance. You then try to prepare as well as possible.”
After the preliminaries, Madeleine and her teammates to the quarterfinals. There they defeated their opponents from Hungary, and also the semi-finals they won. In the final they eventually defeated a team from Israel.
Happily surprised
She herself was pleasantly surprised when she was declared the winner of the tournament. She doesn’t know exactly what makes her so good. “There were also people of whom I thought: ‘Gosh, you are so good’. So I find it difficult to say. I do enjoy doing this.”
The participation in the tournament was in preparation for the World Debating Championships for School Students, which will take place next summer.