The University of the Basque Country has won the IV Inter-University Debating League, which was hel this morning in the Conference Room of the Principality of Asturias, after defeating the team from Cantabria. The jury has also recognised the performance of Isaac Calver, a student from the University of Zaragoza, as the best speaker in the contest.

The IV Inter-University Debating League, sponsored by Cajastur and the General Assembly of the Principality of Asturias, has come to an end with a debate on "Is transgenic food the universal panacea against hunger?", developed in the Conference Room of the Principality of Asturias.

The President of the General Assembly, Fernando Goñi, was in charge of giving the 3,000 euro prize to the winning team. Meanwhile, the Rector of the University of Oviedo, Vicente Gotor, awarded the second prize, 2,000 euros, to the University of Cantabria. The person responsible for Institutional Relations and Social Labours of Cajatur, Carlos Siñeriz, gave Isaac Claver a 450 euros prize for the best speaker of the contest.

During his speech, Fernando Goñi stressed the value of words as an element for dialogue and encounter between opponents and congratulated the participants on their performance. For his part, Vicente Gotor encouraged them to implement their speaking skills with a degree within the University.

The team composed of Ion Baratas, Leire Caballero, Juan Sandín, Josué Tonelli and Jesús Ángel Ibarreche have emerged victorious after defending their stand againts transgenic foodstuff. The five winners are part of the Debating Club of the University of the Basque Country, coordinated by the lecturers David Mérida Sanz and Santiago González de la Torre.

The IV Inter-University Debating League Edition of the G-9, which is organised by the Vicer-rector's Office for University Extension, Culture and Sports, has got the debating teams from seven universities together in Oviedo for three days. The choice of transagenic foodstuff as the topic of the debate is linked to the subject matter of one of the clusters of Biomedicine and Health of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Oviedo, which played host to the Debating League.