Dr Hayat Abdullah Maarafi (centre), Executive Director of QatarDebate, with other officials during a press conference held yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula
Doha: QatarDebate, a member of Qatar Foundation (QF) has announced the world’s biggest ever debating championship. The fifth International Universities Debating Championship organised by Qatar Debate will bring more than 110 teams from 52 countries together this month in Doha.
The debating championship will be held under the patronage of H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, the Vice-Chairman and CEO of QF and aim at contributing towards spreading the art of debate and the cultural exchange of participants.
“This is the biggest ever event held within the debating community. Around 600 people including debaters, judges, trainers and others will be participating the five day championship,” said Dr Hayat Maarafi, Executive Director of QatarDebate, speaking at a press conference yesterday.
The event will be held in Arabic between March 16 and 20 March at Qatar National Convention CenteR (QNCC).
“The event bring together young Arabic and non-native Arabic speaking debaters from Europe, North America, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. This year we have nine new participants including Serbia, Kosovo Azerbaijan, Macedonia and Iran,” said Dr Maarafi.
“A maximum of three teams represent each participating country. However, Kuwait and Oman will represent with five teams each,” she added.
During the debate, teams from native and non-native Arabic speaking countries will be separated and they will be competing with those with equal language skills. A special prize will also be awarded to the best non native Arabic speaking individual and team. The winner of ‘Pioneers award’ will be presented to the best project to spread the art of debate based on precise judging standards. These awards will be presented beside the championship trophy.
New QatarDebate ambassadors will also be announced during the championship.
The fifth International Universities Debating Championship will be held under the new corporate re-brand identity, and the new slogan, ‘Dialogue, Debate, and Diplomacy of QatarDebate.’ It also marks the 10th year anniversary of QatarDebate and reflects mission of the centre.
The five-day event supports the mission of Qatar Foundation to unlock human potential by fostering a culture of discussion and debate, helping shape the global citizens of the future and create intellectual leaders of tomorrow.
