UAE National Debating Team to take part in WSDC-Doha

The UAE national debating team is participating in the 22nd World Schools Debating Championship in Doha. The State of Qatar is the first Arab country to host this Championship that will include 58 participating countries and will take place from February 9, 2010 until February 18, 2010.
QatarDebate Center—member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development—won the honor of hosting this international Championship in Washington DC last year after a strong competition with a number of world capitals. The 23rd WSDC will be held in Scotland in 2011. Preparations for this major event are in full swing, and QatarDebate officials are deploying every possible effort to ensure the success of the WSDC and to prove Qatar's ability as well as that of the Center to organize international forums and events.
The Doha round of the WSDC will feature wide international participation; among the 58 countries participating in the event are the State of Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, America, England, China, Japan, Russia, India, Indonesia and the Netherlands, Mexico, Greece, Germany, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Romania, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Mongolia and Nigeria.
On this occasion, Dr. Hayat Maarafi, Executive Director of QatarDebate Center, said that the participation of the Emirati team in the WSDC will give it a distinctive character, and added that the team has a track record of regularly participating in world debating championships.
She expressed her satisfaction with the participation of the Emirati team at the WSDC, considering that this participation confirms the will of the UAE education officials to involve their students in such a major tournament, which represents a major step toward spreading the debating culture in the Arab world.
Dr. Maarafi said, “We enjoy good relations with the UAE officials and are eager to develop these relations in the future to reflect the strong ties between the two brotherly countries.”
Dr. Maarafi expressed her hope in presenting an event that is of international caliber and that is becoming of Qatar's standing, saying, "We seek to reflect the progress achieved by the State of Qatar on the different levels and in the different arenas.” She also noted that preparations to host this international event are in full swing. The Championship will attract the major names and experts in the debating world.
Dr. Maarafi voiced her belief that the Doha round of the Championship will draw a clear picture of the Arab culture and said, “I am positive that the Arab teams will perform well in the tournaments and will pave the way for the dissemination of the debating culture in the Arab world.”
Regarding the vast international participation in the Championship, Dr. Maarafi said that she is very happy with the turnout, which reflects the reputation achieved by the QatarDebates Center since its inception, and expressed her confidence in the Center’s ability to stage the Championship in an extraordinary manner proving that the Center is taking confident steps towards spreading the culture of debates.
In the framework of the preparations for the WSDC, the Center signed a memorandum of understanding with the 15 most prominent educational institutions in Qatar to host the Championship. The WSDC Doha rounds will be held at: Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Qatar University, the Academic Bridge Program, Qatar Academy, College of the North Atlantic in Qatar, Al-Bayan Educational Complex for Girls, Al-Wakra Independent Secondary School for Boys, Abu Bakr Al Siddiq Independent Secondary School for Boys, Omar Bin Al Khattab Educational Complex for Boys, Doha Independent Elementary School for Boys, Amna Bint Wahab Independent Elementary School for Girls, the Indian School, Debakey High School for Health Professionals in Qatar, Aspire, and Qatar Islamic Cultural Center "FANAR".
QatarDebate was established in September 2007 with the aim of developing, supporting and raising the standard of open discussion and debate among students in Qatar and across the Middle East, shaping the Global Citizens of today and the intellectual leaders of tomorrow.
QatarDebate encourages the Qatari society to promote debating strategies as an educational tool that helps the youth engage in a democratic discussion, increase their self-confidence and view different things logically. It also helps raise awareness among parents, teachers and youth.
QatartDebate Center also trains students on free speech, free debate, the respect of the other, tolerance and understanding, science and logic, and the sense of responsibility and belonging, and expands the students’ social circle through interaction with different communities.