If you are 19 years old and live in the United States, or 14 years old and come from India, you are welcome to have a world class experience learning the skills of debate.

“Debate is competitive like a sport. My students who play sports don’t like to think of that because it doesn’t have the athletic component,” said Estefania Palacios, Debate Camp director.

Campers come from countries like South Africa, England, Mexico, and India.

“[In debate] you need your brains instead of your physical abilities,” said Ruthu Deepesh Krishnam, a camper with the program.

Debate teaches lessons that go beyond the podium, extending into academics. 

“Public speaking, critical thinking, how to do research, how to work with teams, and those, are all skills that are transferable to their academic classes,” Palacios said.

More than 100 young people are at Cornell University’s ILR School for week long workshops and a tournament to test their knowledge. Around half of them traveled internationally to be there.

“I’ve been in India all my life and it's just amazing to see how it is, how people are, and what I can learn from them,” said Mrudula Hamsini Sundar, a camper with the program.

Some campers feel they have learned to break out of their comfort zones.

“I used to be a really shy person, I never interacted with people, but then this camp has made me realize that if I don’t start speaking up and don’t interact with people, nobody will go out of their way to make me feel comfortable,” said Bhavani Hampe, a camper with the program.

“You can be who you want, you can be feisty if you want to also,” Krishnam said.

The annual camp teaches the next generation of world leaders.