The fifth International Schools Debating Championship, held in Arabic and English and organised by QatarDebate Centre, a member of Qatar Foundation, began on Saturday.
With sustainability in focus, the championship is being held under the theme ‘Our Earth, Our Refuge’ to explore environmental issues through the eyes and voices of youth. It aims to highlight the issue of sustainability as one of the most important ways of facing and addressing climate change, global warming and other environmental risks.
HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Subaie delivered a recorded speech at the opening ceremony.
He said, “Qatar plays a pioneering role in supporting global efforts at preserving the environment and tackling global warming and pollution at all levels, starting with green policies and environment-friendly legislation to spread awareness and promoting civilised environmental behaviour.”
HE the Minister also noted that it was a source of great pride that Qatar is launching a global dialogue among youths from 40 countries around the world in the international school debating championship.
“We at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment are happy to be a part of supporting this global dialogue and partnership to make it a success, There is no doubt that with collaborated efforts between governmental and official institutions and across different sectors, we can make the desired progress,” he added.
Dr Hayat Maarafi, executive director of QatarDebate Centre also delivered a recorded speech on the occasion and highlighted the importance of the championship and its theme.
“Our earth, our planet, is the cradle of our civilisation. From its soil, we grew up, let us come together hand in hand to overcome the consequences of our accumulated negligence to this earth that accommodated and embraced us as our earth is our refuge. Together, we plant the seeds of change, which will blossom consciousness and bear the fruit of inspiration to reach what we aspire for on several levels,” said Dr Maarafi.
“We believe in diligence, perseverance and honesty at work, and continue to see challenges as opportunities, which was evident in our investment in the Covid-19 pandemic, as it helped us accelerate our environment-friendly policies and follow innovative systems in training and implementation of hundreds of events through online platforms and integrated models. Moreover, we launched an
educational website that contains all training courses in the arts of debating and dialogue, which is an option that we had adopted with a vision that preceded the pandemic,” added Dr Maarafi.
After the inaugural session, the championship activities started with the first round of competitions after the technical meeting. This is the first time the championship is being held in Arabic and English. The opening ceremony, presented by Gourour Abdul Wahed, was attended widely over the digital platforms of Zoom and YouTube from around the world.