QF Honors Asian Arabic Debating Championship Winners

QatarDebate’s Asian Arabic Debating Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has come to a close, with a Jordanian team taking home first place.

The team from the Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT) was crowned champions after the final round of debating on Monday, February 3, while a team from the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) in Kuwait came second, and a team from Lebanese American University (LAU) came third.

Dr. Hayat Abdulla Marafi, Executive Director, QatarDebate – a member of Qatar Foundation – said: "Through the Asian Arabic Debating Championship, we seek to establish the Arabic language and restore its historical prominence. We aim to achieve this through the art of debate, enabling the youth to learn as well as explore ideas that can serve different people and different communities.

“The competition itself is not our goal. Rather, our goal is to provide a space for growth, and to come together to share our ideas and experiences. This tournament featured 30 teams from 20 Arab and non-Arab countries, demonstrating that the Arabic language is a language and does not necessarily belong to an origin or a race.

“We are proud of all the participants, especially those who speak Arabic as a second language – they reached this far by striving to learn. They mastered the language, discovered its secrets, and prevailed until they reached the final stages."

The championship’s closing ceremony was attended by the Crown Prince of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Ibni Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, and Syed Saddiq, the Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sports, who said in a speech: “Debating encourages critical thinking and builds your curiosity of the world around you.

“It allows you to be well-informed, and teaches you how to be persuasive, how to understand issues from different sides, and the art of negotiation. It teaches you to have compassion and empathy, and never fear failure.”

Abdulrahman Al-Subaie, Head of the Outreach Program at QatarDebate, said the championship will now be repeated after every edition of the International Universities Debating Championship, which QatarDebate organizes in rotation with the International Schools Arabic Debating Championship. “It encourages teams to stand out in their debating performance, to master competing in the Arabic language, and to have a unique experience,” he said.

Bilal Bahaa, a member of the victorious PSUT team, stressed that winning the championship was the result of a lot of training.

“Hard work pays off,” he said. “Our win is very important to us, encouraging us to keep working hard and achieve our goals. We hope we can give back something back to our country after this achievement.”

During the award ceremony, the top ten Arabic-speaking participants were also honored. Rayan Al-Rifai, from Kuwait University who won fourth place in the category, said: “I am happy with today’s results. The competition was tough, but I enjoyed it and feel that I have benefited from it.

“I also learned new debating methods, including how to present ideas and arguments in different ways. The tournament also gave me the opportunity to meet people from other countries, and learn about their way of thinking, especially in terms of the topics and issues discussed.”

A team from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies took the title for best team in the non-Arabic speaking category. Im Dong-kun, a member of the team, said: “We did not expect this result, but we are very happy with it, as it will motivate us to continue learning Arabic.

“This is the first time that I have participated in an Arabic debating tournament. It was a valuable experience for me, and I would like to thank all our colleagues and the judges who came from various countries and who helped us on our journey."