QatarDebate officials during the press conference.
Doha: The second International Universities Arabic Debating Championship, organised by QatarDebate (QD), is set to kick off on April 21 at QNCC.
Some 43 universities from 21 Arab countries, in addition to teams from universities in Australia, Turkey, UK, US, Canada and Malaysia, are participating in the championship.
QD recently held a press conference to announce the contest, which was attended by Dr Hayat Abdullah Maarafi, Executive Director of QatarDebate, Salem Al Halbadi, Government Affairs Director, ConocoPhillips Qatar, the Championship’s gold sponsor, Dr Abdullatif Sellami, Educational Programs Manager at the Center, Jamal Al Baker, Events Manager, Ali Sultan Al Muftah, Communications Manager, and Dr. Abed Al Sameai, Head of Arabic Program.
“The motto for this year’s championship is ‘an Arabic ceremony of debate and dialogue’, which reflects the central significance of this championship as a meeting point for self-discovery, establishing connections, exchanging opinions, and having new acquaintances in debate and dialogue,” Dr Hayat Abdullah Maarafi said.
Teams from all Arab countries will be participating in the contest with the exception of Syria. Dr Maarafi said QD seeks to better establish the art of debate in Arabic language, and promote it in the region.
She also revealed the championship’s theme this year, which is a tree shaped logo. The leaves envisage the participating countries in a distinctive form to reflect the difference in opinions and viewpoints, but eventually all rooted in the same trunk, Dr Maarfi said.
“There is a debater in every individual that needs to be developed and nurtured (hence the seed on the soil), and this is the role of the Championship that QatarDebate has organized,” Ali Sultan Al Muftah said while explaining the idea of the tree-shaped theme.
Answering a question about the qualification of the participating teams in the championship, Dr Abed Al Sameai said: “Early preparations have been taking place, whereby we had organised the debate academy for training of trainers in Arabic, 2012.
The Peninsula
