US Presidential Mock Debate

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Media Issues about this debate
Video - Globo, Jornal Hoje - Oct, 11th at 13:15

Video - Futura, Jornal Futura - Oct, 23rd at 12:00 pm

Text - Jornal do Brasil - Oct, 11th

Text - Globo.com - Oct, 9th

Text - Brazzil Magazine - brazzilmag.com - Oct, 10th

The American Society of Rio de Janeiro, in association with the United States Consulate General of Rio and the Escola Americana hosted a Mock U.S. Presidential Debate on Friday, 10 October at the school. The event featured the participation of sister schools from the Association of American Schools of South America (AASSA). Steve Spencer, Executive Director of the Brazilian Public Radio Association (ARPUB) and former manager of member stations of National Public Radio in the U.S., represented Democrats Abroad; while Kevin Ivers, an independent consultant and former Director of Public Affairs for Log Cabin Republicans, represented Republicans Abroad. The debate moderator was the award-winning journalist, Mac Margolis, staff correspondent for Newsweek, who resides in Rio and reports on Latin American affairs.

The current presidential race in the United States has attracted global interest, making the elections an opportune teaching topic for classes of U.S. History, History of the Americas, Debate or Public Speaking classes, Economics, World History, etc. Preparing students to watch this debate helped spur engagement overall. Questions from students of the participating schools were posed to the debaters via video which added a dynamic quality to the Mock Debate event. The auditorium was full of buzzing, excited students while viewers from other schools on the continent and interested observers in the U.S. watched simultaneously via the school website connection.

Much interest on the part of the press was expressed and news media attended from TV stations and newspapers. The campaign organizers for both political parties were informed and enthusiasm grew due to the uniqueness of this project. What caught their attention was the focus on a timely instructional event as a digitally-shared resource on a national and continental basis among American international schools abroad. EARJ offered live streaming via its website and a complete archive is now available for on-demand viewing on YouTube. Please note the links on this website for featured reporting.

If you have questions about this event, please contact Kristine Werner, College Counselor and teacher of History of the Americas at EA.