THE University of the South Pacific was crowned the winner of the third 2012 Europa Shield, commonly known as the Inter-University Debate, yesterday.
The USP snatched the title from defending champions, Fiji National University in a tough challenge at the university's Japan-Pacific ICT Centre at the Laucala Campus.
USP's team one and two competed against each other in the finals while FNU was outclassed in the lead up to the final after having lost to USP's team one and two.
The topics for the debate this year were centered around issues affecting the world such as climate change, gender, women in parliament and the roles of the media.
The team leader of the winning team and the winner of the Best Debater Award, Jope Tarai said every member of his team worked hard for the debate.
"Winning the debate is a relief after all hard work. I thank the staff members of USP for the support," he said.
As the recipient of the best debater, Mr Tarai won himself a shield and an opportunity to be part of United Nations model training in Wellington, New Zealand next year. The members of USP team two, runners up, got the opportunity to be attached with various departments and received certificates while FNU received gift prizes and certificates.