QatarDebate’s Asian Arabic Debating Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, came to a close, with a Jordanian team taking home the first place.
The team from the Princess Sumaya University for Technology was crowned champions after the final round of debating while a team from the Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait came second, and a team from Lebanese American University, third.
Dr Hayat Abdulla Marafi, executive director, QatarDebate – a member of Qatar Foundation – said, “Through the Asian Arabic Debating Championship, we seek to establish the Arabic language and restore its historical prominence. We aim to achieve this through the art of debate, enabling the youth to learn as well as explore ideas that can serve different people and different communities.
“The competition itself is not our goal. Rather, our goal is to provide a space for growth, and to come together to share our ideas and experiences. This tournament featured 30 teams from 20 Arab and non-Arab countries, demonstrating that the Arabic language is a language and does not necessarily belong to an origin or a race.”
The championship’s closing ceremony was attended by the crown prince of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Ibni al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin al-Mustafa Billah Shah and the Malaysian minister of youth and sports, Syed Saddiq. “Debating encourages critical thinking and builds your curiosity of the world around you. It allows you to be well-informed, and teaches you how to be persuasive, how to understand issues from different sides, and the art of negotiation. It teaches you to have compassion and empathy, and never fear failure,” noted Saddiq.
Abdulrahman al-Subaie, head of the outreach programme at QatarDebate, said the championship will now be repeated after every edition of the International Universities Debating Championship, which QatarDebate organises in rotation with the International Schools Arabic Debating Championship. “It encourages teams to stand out in their debating performance, to master competing in the Arabic language, and to have a unique experience,” he said.
Bilal Bahaa, a member of the victorious team, stressed that winning the championship was the result of a lot of training. “Hard work pays off,” he said. “Our win is very important to us, encouraging us to keep working hard and achieve our goals. We hope we can give back something back to our country after this achievement.”
During the award ceremony, top 10 Arabic-speaking participants were also honoured. A team from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies took the title for best team in the non-Arabic speaking category.
Source:gulf-times.com
