“The Obama Challenge” filled the Multipurpose Room to the brim during a roundtable discussion.

For more than two hours, AUBG professors Molly Burke-Kirova, Robert White, Nadeem Naqvi, Gerald Pech and Maria Tzankova discussed the most debated topic in the past few months: Barak Obama’s election as president of America. The discussion was divided into three modules: the  influence of modern technologies in policymaking, the bailout and the nationalization of banks, and the end of the “white America”

Molly Burke said that new technologies can be used by politicians to both attract supporters, and get feedback on new policies. “Facebook and Youtube may offer extraordinary opportunities,” she said.

Possible solutions of the financial crisis and the controversy around nationalization sparked a heated debate between Economics Professors Pech and Naqvi. As the discussion moved on, the participants analyzed the message that Obama sends to the minority groups all over the world. Although the talk’s focus was on the new president, it also included topics such as contemporary challenges for the educational system, the war in Iraq, and the Russian-Ukrainian gas conflict.Students actively commented on the faculty’s opinions and expressed their own. More than 50 people stayed till the end of the debate.

“The Obama Challenge” was the first event organized by the AUBG’s  Debate Club for the Spring semester. “I hope such discussions will make debating as an intellectual initiative more popular on campus,” said Ekaterina Saeva, the club’s  president.