Youth in Action

FOR THE WORLD:
THE YOUTH SPEAKS

Promiti Prova Chowdhury

"This house would grant amnesty to RAB officials involved in 'cross fire' once it is proven that the victim had gross criminal records.” While the proposition team would stress on the point -- for the greater good of the nation, sacrificing people with criminal records is justified -- the opposition team kept emphasising on the lack of accountability of RAB and political influence over them. Full of sheer excitement and enthusiasm, the debate over this highly controversial topic brought an end to the three-day-long Bangladesh Schools Debate Championship 2012, organised by European Standard School Debate Club (ESSDC). The final round of the tournament was held on September 2, 2012 at the ballroom of Hotel Ruposhi Bangla.

Academia, the champion team of BSDC 2012 recieving crest from the chief guest. Photo: Kazi Farhan

Battling out all other teams, the four teams to reach the semi-finals were Manarat Dhaka International School, Aga Khan School, Summerfield International School and Academia. Additionally, Academia and Aga Khan School reached the finals and competed against each other. Finally, Academia was the team to earn the honour of becoming the Champion of the tournament.

The chief guest at the event was Engineer Mohammad Idris, Managing Director of Probashi Bangla Development Limited while Mohammad Abdul Latif, renowned debater from International Islamic University, Malaysia and adjudicator in the Asian community graced the occasion as the special guest.

“ESSDC aims to set new standards in the arena of debate in Bangladesh. Therefore, we organised the BSDC for the first time to familiarise the young debaters with the Worlds School Debating Championship (WSDC) format and prepare them for participating in it,” said Pabitra M Saikee, the current President of the club.

A total of 15 schools participated in this tournament. They are, Manarat Dhaka International School and College, Academia, Maple leaf International School, Bangladesh International School, European Standard School (ESS), Saint Joseph Higher Secondary School and College, Scholastica, Dhanmondi Tutorial (DT), Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Summerfield International School, RAJUK Uttara Model School and College, Siddiques International School, Sunnydale School, Universal Tutorial and, Aga Khan School.

The 'World Schools Debating Format' was followed in this championship where each institution was represented by one team, consisting of five members. Eight rounds of preliminary debates were held in the first two days. Many burning issues of home and abroad, was addressed through topics like, 'this house would impose an animal adoption tax,' 'this house believes that corrupt politicians, once publicly exposed of their misdoings, should be barred from taking part in national elections,' 'this house believes that citizens above 60 should not require a Visa,' 'this house believes that post-conflict Middle Eastern nations should recruit rebel soldiers into state armies,' 'this house would make Oscar Awards gender neutral,' 'this house believes that governments should block the foreign takeover of important domestic companies,' 'this house disallows prom nights in Bangladeshi Schools,' and 'this house believes that constitutions should not be amended without direct citizen participation.'

Simon Quinn, a renowned personality in the international debating fraternity was the central attraction of the event, guided the young debaters throughout the process of ranking, and introduced them with the methodologies used at the Worlds. He is currently doing post-doctoral research in Economics at All Souls College, Oxford University.

Furthermore, three adjudicators judged the eight rounds. The Chief Adjudicator (CA) was Sinha Ibna Humayun, former debater of North South University Debate Club (NSUDC). He is known for his participation as CA and Deputy CA at numerous debate championships both home and abroad. The Deputy Chief Adjudicators were Anam Hossain, a student at the London College of Legal Studies (LCLS) and the President of the LCLS Debate and Mooting Club and Arghya Dev Biswas Aryan, another popular name in the Bangladeshi debate fraternity.

Crests were presented to the Champion and runner-up teams by the chief guest. Tousif Amin Khan from Academia stood the best speaker. In the closing note Sinha Ibna Humayun thanked the organising committee of ESSDC for working hard and making this event a success. The event was sponsored by Probashi Bangla Ltd, Mojo, Rahimafrooz while Radio Today and The Daily Star were the media partners.

DID YOU KNOW?

Adam Sandler

Actor Adam Richard Sandler was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents, on September 9, 1966 (turning 46 today!). When he was five, his family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he attended Manchester Central High School. He found he was a natural comic, and nurtured his talent while at New York University by performing regularly in clubs and on campuses. Sandler graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1988. Later in his career, he would draw on his earliest experiences for material for his comedy, music and movies. The song "Lunchlady Land" from his debut album They're All Gonna Laugh at You! is dedicated to Emalee, the lunchlady at Hayden Dining Hall at New York University. In the mid to late 1980s, Sandler played Theo Huxtable's friend, Smitty, on The Cosby Show. He was a performer for the MTV game show Remote Control, on which he made appearances as the characters "Trivia Delinquent" or "Stud Boy". Early in his career, Sandler performed in comedy clubs, taking the stage at his brother's urging when he was seventeen. He was discovered by comedian Dennis Miller, who caught Sandler's act in Los Angeles. Miller recommended him to Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. Sandler was hired as a writer for SNL in 1990 and became a featured player the following year, making a name for himself by performing amusing original songs on the show, including "The Chanukah Song".

Information Source: Internet