Bethlehem 13-05-2010

The first-ever student debate tournament was held at the Talitha Kumi Secondary School in Beit Jala yesterday.  The tournament was sponsored by the Model Schools Network Project, a USAID-funded school improvement project administered by AMIDEAST.  Sixty-six students from ten schools engaged in the tournament.

The tournament was titled “2010 Debates” and was held in coordination with the Open Society Institute which provided training to the debate team supervisors.  Developing students’ abilities in research and analysis, as well as learning the skills in defending one’s viewpoint in a formal debate setting were two goals of the activity.

Two controversial issues were presented for debate: preventing early marriage and prohibiting mobile phones in schools.  Students split into teams that either supported or opposed the issues.  They prepared their arguments for the debate based on their prior research.  The student teams showed a great amount of enthusiasm for the activity.  The tournament was judged by a panel of trained teachers and experts in debates.

Malek Abu Arram, a student at the Evangelical Lutheran School of Hope, mentioned how much he enjoyed participating in the activity.  He said he learned debate skills that would help in daily life. He felt more confident about his ability to present his opinions to a crowd.

Dr. Chris Shinn, Chief of Party for MSN, praised the efforts of both students and supervisors in making the tournament a success.  Certificates of participation were distributed to the students and the winning teams received a  special recognition award.

Ms. Salpi Gianaman, MSN Community Outreach Specialist, was satisfied with the performance of students in the tournament.  She added that the tournament is just one of many events and activities implemented by the MSN program to students at participating schools.

Ms. Najwa Bierqdar, the tournament facilitator, described the event as both a fun and useful activity.  She noted that one of the goals for the tournament was to increase awareness of controversial issues, as well as to encourage students to learn about topics and seek information on their own.  She was impressed by the high level of engagement of the students.  Ms. Bierqdar added that the experience of learning how to formally debate will help to establish a basis of rational and civilized discussion in Palestinian society.