JA launches 2017 Leadership Debate Series

The debate series, which is open to youths aged 13 to 17 years, will start with preliminary rounds among schools in Trinidad and Tobago in September with the grand finals carded to be held at the National Academy for Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain, on November 29.

JA Executive Director, J. Errol Lewis, told a select gathering of JA officials, judges, teachers and students who attended the formal launch at Queen’s Hall last Wednesday that the debate series was a “sound and valuable way of bringing value to the classroom”. “Engaging in these debates will provide fertile ground for our youths to fulfill their true potential.

Our intent is to teach our children how to conduct research, how to speak convincingly and how to argue a case and build a proposition. What we aim to do is to present the debate process in Trinidad and Tobago,” explained Lewis.

The competition is open to schools, youth clubs or similar institutions, with Lewis expressing the hope that the process would lead to the formation of debating clubs in schools where they do not exist.

The motion for the preliminary rounds is “Be it resolved that the education system that currently exists in Trinidad and Tobago is sufficient to produce successful 21st Century global citizens.” Subsequent rounds will debate the following motion: “Be it resolved that happiness is the most important indicator of well-being and success at the level of the individual.” A massive seven- foot challenge trophy, along with other prizes, will be at stake in the competition. A drawing of the futuristic- looking trophy, designed by Kemal Manickhand, was unveiled at the launch.

To be made primarily of stainless steel, with brass and copper and a diamond head infused in its configuration, the trophy, as Manickchand explained, represented the embodiment of conflict in resonance with the debate process, and reflected the glory of God.

Present at the launch were JA Directors, Michael Calendar (Deputy Chairman}, retired judge Sebastien Ventour and Nigel Scott.

Judges will include Merle Carrington, Annette des Isles, Dominic Kallipersad, Avril Ramchand, Nicola Harvey, Maurice Chevalier and Dominic Smith.

Carrington gave valuable guidelines on effective debating, pointing out that the exercise was an act of engagement and persuasion.

“You may find yourselves proposing a position you do not initially support. You must do proper research, engage in refutation and rebuttal.

Open up your minds.

Other positions may be just as valid. There are no losers in a debate; all are winners.

Every participant will learn and develop from this debate series,” Carrington pointed out.

Giving a student’s perspective was Shauntelle Wilson, Upper Six student of St. Joseph’s Convent, St Joseph, and formerly of Barataria North Secondary, who participated in a previous debate series. “I benefited immensely when I took part in 2013.

While it was very challenging, it helped me build self-esteem and gave me greater confidence in my abilities.

It also helped me prepare for the future, academically and socially,” Wilson said.

Avalon Simon, teacher at Queen’s Royal College, said while teachers could be tempted to prepare and write the arguments and let their students present them, that option would defeat the whole purpose of the debating process.

“This exercise is for our students to grow at the end of the process. They must endure the process and grow in confidence and test their abilities,” she advised.

The JA Leadership Debate Series aims to develop critical thinking, the development of research and problem- solving skills, promoting dispute resolution skills among youths, and cultivate a positive cadre of youths to become productive citizens