The 7th International Universities Debating Championship, held by QatarDebate Center, begins today. Spread over five days, the championship brings together around 600 participants from more than 100 universities globally to debate in the Arabic Language. The debates will be adjudicated by judges of diverse backgrounds from 50 countries.
The tournament is being held in partnership with the Doha Forum, Al Jazeera Media Institute, the Translation and Interpreting Institute at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and the Doha International Family Institute.
Commenting on the importance of organizing the Championship Ms. Reem Al-Musallam, Communications Manager at QatarDebate Center said: This year's championship sees significant international participation, with 100 teams from 50 countries. The participants are divided into two categories, native and non-native speakers, due to diversity in Arabic language proficiency and cultural differences among participants.
Al-Musallam views this wide participation as strong evidence that the center "has become a successful model culturally, scientifically, and linguistically through organizing debates and their widespread dissemination. This international event represents an opportunity to keep up with ideas on various intellectual issues, ensuring diversity in topics that allow debaters to enrich their knowledge and discuss various issues."
Commenting on QatarDebate Center’s efforts to promote Arabic language, Al-Musallam stated that the championship helps youth learn the art of debate, master public speaking in Arabic, and build their analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. “The tournament also promotes linguistic and cultural integration, boosts the confidence of non-native Arabic speakers, and helps them to speak it more fluently,” she added.
In the lead-up to the championship, more than 80 judges from Qatar and 45 from other countries, along with debate coaches, underwent preparatory training organized by the Center to develop their adjudicating skills and techniques.
Preparations for the tournament’s launch were completed with the arrival of participating teams who had won the national championships held in multiple countries under the supervision of the QatarDebate Center.
The Center participated in organizing 15 national championships from October 2024 to February 2024 in Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Algeria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Germany, Turkey, and the United States, involving 925 speakers and 565 judges.
Commenting on the importance of organizing national tournaments, Al-Musallam said: “QatarDebate Center pays great attention to supporting tournaments in the Arab region and across the world to discover talented debaters and establish teams that can best represent their countries internationally.”
She further added: “QatarDebate encourages open debate, fosters active dialogue, and empowers youth to discuss their inspiring ideas and showcase their linguistic skills in Arabic for native and non-native speakers. Moreover, we also focus on fostering a spirit of healthy competition among debaters.”
With the stage set and the participants ready, the 7th International Universities Debating Championship promises to be an exciting event bringing together passionate debaters worldwide. The championship, concluding on May 29, aims to highlight the art of debate, promote the Arabic language, and foster global dialogue among the youth.