Doha – QatarDebate

QatarDebate, established by Qatar Foundation for Education, Research and Community Development, organized the 5th “Debate Capacity Building Program” in cooperation with the U.S. Arabic Debate Union, an initiative of QatarDebate, hosted by Columbia University in New York to support Arabic-language debate programs, during the period from 27-28 April 2024.

In its fifth edition, the program proudly continues the legacy of previous editions, building on the remarkable achievements of the four editions held at the University of Chicago 2020-2021 and at the Qatar America Institute for Culture in Washington, D.C. 2022-2023. The 40 participants aims to support and ensure the sustainability of the activities and events of the U.S Arabic Debate Union, which engages the affiliates of more than 50 prestigious educational institutions each year in events including public debates, competitive debates, inclusion of debates in university courses, and other activities that serve as support mechanisms for learners of Arabic and native speakers in the United States of America.

The capacity building program focuses on enhancing basic skills for training, teaching, community participation, effective organization of tournaments and how to manage the union. Through the program, QatarDebate seeks to support and empower a select group of participants to lead Arabic-language debate activities in the United States. Over the course of 12 training hours for participants, which included discussing the union’s annual plans, advanced workshops in debate, arbitration and training skills, how to successfully organize activities and debate programs independently throughout the year to ensure sustainability, in addition to presentations of best practices and distinguished experiences.

Midwest Arabic Debating Championship

The first regional championship in the United States of America, the “Midwest Arabic Debating Championship”, organized by the University of Illinois in cooperation with the U.S. Arabic Debate Union, a QatarDebate initiative, concluded on Sunday, April 21. Which kicked off on Saturday, April 20, over two days at the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, host of this event, with the participation of ten universities from the Midwest region in the United States, 40% of them from the Arabic for non-native speakers category. The championship title in the final round was won by the Indiana University team against its counterpart from the University of Illinois, which came in second place,