The Ethical Cup, a competition where everyone wins!

The winning team of the ethical cup, Collège Louis-Riel. From left to right: Didié Joyal, Madelaine Rivero, Ulrik Gagnon, Aron Dikkema, Kiara Pastora, Silvie Mukangwije, Hayam Akcha, Gabrielle Lachance, Kincaid Heller and Sirai Heller. (photo: Marta Guerrero)

Every year for the past five years, a very special event has taken place in Manitoba’s French-speaking secondary schools: the Ethical Cup.

Published on March 8

FREEDOM

By Clémence Tessier – Collaborator

It is a competition in which groups from different schools debate among themselves, in French. You may have never heard of it, so let me explain!

Gymnastics for thought

The primary objective of the Ethical Cup is to allow young participants to exercise their critical thinking. That is to say the ability to think for oneself by analyzing the information available to oneself.

The different teams must therefore discuss sometimes complex subjects among themselves. This year, for example, it was about forest fires, politeness, sharing and inequality.

It is also an exercise in listening and collaboration, since the winning team is the one that is best prepared and most open to different points of view.

Emma Natividad, a participant, says: “The best thing about the Ethical Cup is the discussions between schools, the different points of view. See how others think. »

In Manitoba, the Ethical Cup tournament is held in French, even though it is a majority English-speaking province. Antoine Cantin-Brault, the organizer of the event, is delighted: “More and more schools want to participate. I have the impression that interest in debate in French is growing. »

The important thing is to participate!

This year, the teams from the Gabrielle-Roy Regional School/College and Louis-Riel College competed in the final. It was the latter who won the cup, for the second year in a row! “It’s still so much fun ,” assures Gabrielle Lachance, who was participating for the third time. Then it’s great to see the Ethical Cup growing. »

Despite the defeat, all participants from the Gabrielle-Roy Regional School/College finished the competition with smiles on their faces. “We are not disappointed. We didn’t even think we would win, we really came for the experience. The cup is just a bonus point,” says Emma Natividad, who was a finalist for the Gabrielle-Roy Regional School/College team.

Stéphanie Roy, who was part of the jury, was very impressed by the performance of the two teams: “I was not surprised, but really proud to see that so many students had the courage to participate. It was a very enriching experience. I’m happy to see how young people think. After all, they are our next leaders! »

Have you ever participated in a competition with your school?