Debating

• Engage and debate, no matter what. The EdG Debate Team’s first study trip was planned fm February 25 to March 4 with stops in Los Angeles, Boston and New York. Sadly, the cancellation was inevitable due to a tragic turn in current events. However, it was out of the question to deprive our officers fm this learning experience.
  
  Everything was moved online so that they could still benefit fm exchanges with the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center, the Yale Jackson School Institute for Global Affairs, the Yale ROTC and the French Permanent Mission to the UN. They even had the opportunity to debate with the Yale Debate Association. The officers once again proved their resilience and still seized every opportunity to practice their leadership and debating skills while promoting transatlantic interoperability. Many thanks to @franceonu @BelferCenter Yale ROTC and @Emma Sky. Check out the video on Ecole de guerre FB account.

• [EDG Debate team in Washington D.C. – 21 to 30 May]
  
  The EDG debate team went on their final trip of the year to attend debate tournaments as well as the @US Army War College’s #strategy competition. They discussed various topics ranging fm the New Urban Agenda to the definition of liberal values. They further practiced their public speaking and argumentation skills while strengthening transatlantic cooperation. They proved that practice makes perfect by reaching the first step of the podium in the General Lafayette Debates Championship military category.
  
  They used the time between debates to meet experts and visit institutions. They traded insight with the @FBI, @Atlantic Council, @Department of Defense, @House-Armed Service Committee, @Penn State Dickinson Law, @US Court of Federal Claims. These meetings were the opportunity to foster mutual understanding in the spirit of interoperability.
  
  Huge thanks to all who made this possible: Paul Hayes fm George Washington University, French Embassy, Celestino Perez, Charles Lichfield, Leanna Saler, Adam Scher, Corinne Robillart, Paul Arcangeli, Amy C. Gaudion and William E. Butler. Check out the video on Ecole de guerre FB account.

US Academic Writing

[EDG U.S. Academic Writing program in Washington D.C. – 1 to 7 May]

The yearly U.S. Academic Writing program came to a close with a trip to Washington D.C. The officers presented the findings of their research to the institutions we collaborate with - Washington Institute for Near East Policy – Center for Strategic & International Studies – National Defense University - Center for European Policy Analysis - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace – Department of State Global Engagement Center. Each institution gathered panels of experts for the occasion.

The officers defended their theses demonstrating great #public-speaking skills and supported their yearlong research with strong #leadership skills, such as persuasion and argumentation.

They tackled a wide range of themes, ranging fm international cooperation and bolstering French forces capabilities to the Indo-Pacific and disinformation. Their critical analysis was greatly appreciated by their speaking partners, and the discussion fostered greater mutual understanding and interoperability.

This trip was also the opportunity to engage with American civil society - Institute for State Effectiveness – Veterans of Foreign Wars– French embassy in the US – Defense Intelligence Agency as well as the French diplomatic corps, in order to better work together in the future. Check out the video on Ecole de guerre FB account.

BILC

The 2022 NATO Bureau of International Language Coordination (BILC) conference was held in Loreto, Italy, at the Italian Air Force Aviation English Training Center (22-27 May) with a total of 52 participants fm 24 countries.

The theme of this year’s conference was: “Learning fm the Past and Building for the Future”. Topics such as “Designing training for special missions”, “Managing contract teachers and non-permanent staff” and “Blending online and in-person training” were discussed.

Ms. Emilie Cléret (the French representative to the BILC and head of the English department) and Mr. Jérôme Collin (head of the French department in Ecole de guerre) gave presentations on “Redefining relationships in the learning space”.

Firstly, Mr. Collin tackled the "pedagogical contract" opposing the instructive field, based on the status and authority of the teacher, and the educational field, based on an affective relationship with the teacher. The balance between these two fields is difficult to control, with the teacher going fm "sorcerer" to "charlatan". But the main blocking element is the focus on the teacher. In the military domain, a centripetal pedagogy (officers exchange with each other) should be favoured for military themes and a centrifugal pedagogy (officers go and talk to speakers) for language acquisition. The teacher becomes a co-creator of his or her content with the officers and must be able to re-appropriate the mission to develop winning strategies.

Following Mr Collin’s first part of the presentation, Ms Cléret started with the definition of the relationship between the decision-maker and the teacher, which is fundamental to developing a learning situation that is beneficial to the learner. This relationship is often understood as a vertical relationship between an employer and an employee, i.e. a situation where a program is delivered by a workforce. Teaching imposed by the decision-maker through a manual or curriculum creates a barrier between the trainer and the learner. An administrative and legal constraint has forced departments to review this relationship. The decision-maker is no longer the owner of a workforce but a delegate, which frees the trainer to create the content that is best adapted to the learner's needs.

Stay tuned !