GUST Debate Club won 2nd place at the Asian Arabic Debating Championship held in Malaysia this week. The team competed against over 30 teams from different Arabic speaking countries. The competition took place over a period of 5 days. From January 30thto February 3rd,where they battled their way to the top positions. The final debate round was against Princess Sumaya University for Technology (Jordan) on the topic of “The policy of no interference in the internal affairs of other countries”. The club members representing the university were Salem Al-Mutairi, Sami Ismael, and Athoub Al-Dhafiri. Supporting the team members was their supervisor, Dr. Hussain Al Sharoufi, Associate Professor at GUST’s English Department. Club President, Salem Al-Mutairi was also able to secure 3rdplace as Best Speaker at the conference. Both prizes were awarded by the Crown Prince of Malaysia, Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra.
The Asian Arabic
Debating Championship was launched this year as an initiative by QatarDebate in
collaboration with International Islamic University of Malaysia, with the
involvement of the Malaysian Ministries of Education, and the Youth &
Sports as strategic partners to foster the culture of discussion and develop
the intellectual leaders of tomorrow.Club President, Salem Al Mutairi,
said, “It’s an honor and a privilege to compete against so many experienced and
skilled teams, and I am proud to have lifted the name of the university to such
heights. I am also grateful to my teammates,
and to Dr. Al Sharoufi for his guidance and support throughout this journey.
GUST’s Debate Club has showcased
their talent and skills winning four prominent awards just this past year,
including,1stplace in the Kuwait Open Debate Tournament,2ndplace at the Kuwait
English Debate Competition, 3rdplace at the Universities Arabic Debating
Championship of Kuwait and 18thplace in the International Universities Arabic
Debating Championship (IUADC).”
