QU English Debating Club (QUEDC) participated in the QatarDebate Open Asian Parliamentary style tournament for English-speaking high school and university students in Qatar. QUEDC sent five judges and five teams representing Qatar University. Team SWS (Consisting of Sara Sultan Almaadeed, Wadha Alhemaidi, and Shahd Hamad Al-Hajri) secured the runner-up position in the debate competition.
Hosted by the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST), the tournament was held on Friday and Saturday, 27-28 January 2023. QU had an honorable and significant involvement in the Open Tournament, which was the first-ever Asian parliamentary-style tournament for university students in Qatar. The competition aims to promote critical thinking and public speaking skills, which are integral for students’ intrapersonal and social development as successful members of society.
Fatma Elnahas, the President of QUEDC shared her experiences and insight on the event, she said: “It was an outstanding tournament, and I am proud of QU teams’ performances and the improvements we had from the past competition after having weekly training sessions. This being the first Asian parliamentary open competition makes the achievements extra special. I believe this was a great experience for QUEDC members especially the first-year students as it will advance them quickly in their debating journey and I am looking forward to all students applying their knowledge from the competition in upcoming national and international tournaments.”
Shahd Hamad Al-Hajri, who ranked second amongst the best speakers (out of 70+ debaters) and whose team reached the finals, also shared her incredible experience from the tournament, she said “It was an honor to be part of the QU delegation attending the AP open 2023. The practice and training provided by the QUEDC club in the months leading to the competition prepared us well to excel in our performance.”
Three QU teams successfully reached the quarterfinals, and two teams represented QU in the semi-finals. Team IMM, consisting of Inas Mohd Amin (who is QUEDC’s Secretary), Mohamed-Dhia Abdaoui, and Maram Issam J Kanan reached the semi-finals. Team FFH (consisting of Fatima Nazar, Fatma Elnahas, and Hussein Mohamed, who are QUEDC’s Senior Mentor, President, and Vice-President respectively) reached the quarterfinals. The final round discussed the motion “This House Prefers a pessimistic view of AI technology instead of an optimistic one.”
The tournament concluded with a closing ceremony where the top speakers and teams were awarded by Ms. Allison Furlong, the Manager of Student Engagement at UDST, and Ms. Aisha Al Nesf, the Head of Educational Programs at QatarDebate.
Source: Qatar University