THE AFRICAN SCHOOLS DEBATE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Using gifted tongues to clash in the quest for knowledge & truth
About Us
Organized for the first time in Africa by African Revelations Communication Group (Uganda),
A new innovative, and revolutionary Corporate Communications structure: Whose cardinal purpose is to produce, develop, manage, and offer cutting edge business orientated perceptions, and communication solutions to its clients, with the essential aim of empowering, informing, and transforming their Corporate Brands Profitably.
The African Schools Debate League championship is an organized and civilized wrestling platform of different views regarding Africa’s crucial issues of the day. The major aim is to offer an open-minded intellectual debating Paideia, with the deep education, deep formation, and cultivation of Africa’s young academic population.
History of Debate
Debating has been around for a long time, with some pretty spectacular results. Look at Socrates, who was put to death in 399 BCE for corrupting the youth of Athens; his accusers couldn’t forgive him for incessantly questioning their beliefs and making “the worse appear the better cause”. Abraham Lincoln went head-to-head with Stephen Douglas in the Illinois senatorial race of 1858; those debates catapulted Lincoln into the presidency. More recently, debating has morphed into a sport for the politicians and elite academics.
Target Group
The African Schools Debate League is designed to attract both the high and secondary African academic population. Students will be given the opportunity to wrestle and take on Africa’s crucial issues of the day. At completion, the winning school and the organizers will compile a report about the topics debated during the league which will be posted at the African Union parliament for recognition.
What do We Want to achieve?
· To offer Africa’s young academic population an educational activity which also brings the joyful satisfaction of a healthy competition.
· To provide various opportunities for young Africans to develop reading, writing, speaking skills which will help them become confident and articulate nationalistic leaders.
· To use debate to assert social, economic, and political changes in Africa and the world at large.
· To help nurture a group of young African individuals who are not just trying to earn a living but are trying to make a difference in their own scopes of influence.
· To educate young Africa’s mindset so that it can be able to think, act, envision, and led Africa into her dreamland.
· To groom and empower an action and initiative-orientated generation of African young academics with a global outlook.
Category
Public debate
The debate begins with a proposition. At each debate, teams of three students argue four topics that they’ve researched in advance: one school based, one regional, one national, and one international. The proposition team upholds the proposition by listing arguments in its favor. Team members try to prove that the motion is more likely to be true than false. For example, students debating whether public schools should adopt a much shorter holiday schedule period might point out that students would no longer experience the huge loss of knowledge that occurs over an extended holiday break. The members of the opposition team must show why the case is wrong and what harm would result if it were implemented. They might mention that the proposal would be detrimental to teachers, many of whom take jobs during the long holiday season to supplement their incomes. The catch? Students don’t know in advance which side they’ll be assigned to debate, so they must be prepared to argue both sides.
Policy debating
Policy debating is an art form of sheer beauty in creative arguments. However, for those watching it for the first time it may seem perplexing until you get your bearings. Speakers speak as fast as they can because the team that makes the greater number of arguments increases its chances of winning. In policy debating eloquence is not rewarded—evidence is. And speakers tend to read a lot of it. Judges do not care about how pretty you sound but how you present your arguments. Policy debating requires a lot of commitment in time and effort, and it’s life-changing because of the powerful effect on participants. Here is where the voiceless are taken seriously, the young treated as adults. They are referred to formally as Mr./ Ms: and they get to talk about interesting things that people actually talk about in the news or at the dinner table. Policy debate is fun and the most intriguing game you can play. While students are debating, they are furiously taking notes, because they can’t refute their opponents’ arguments if they don’t remember what those arguments are. Likewise, they would have difficulty expanding on and amplifying their teammates’ arguments, one of the requirements of the format, if they don’t write them down.
Getting Started With Policy debate
Teachers who want students to practice policy-debating skills don’t need to wait to form a debate team or attend a policy debate coaching session. They can immediately begin with integrating certain elements of policy debating into their classes. Students can start by practicing two fundamental policy-debating skills.
Making An Argument
There are three parts to a complete argument, conveniently abbreviated ARE. An argument begins with an assertion, a statement that describes the main point the speaker is trying to make, such as, Zimbabwe’s reversed land policy system by President Robert Mugabe’s government caused the fall of the Nation’s robust economy. Students then follow-up with reasoning, this is the “because” part assertion he or she has made; Zimbabwe’s reversed land policy system by President Robert Mugabe caused the fall of the Nation’s robust economy-because the white agronomists who were the economy’s engine were deprived of their land, thus unable to continue with business as usual. And before we all knew it, Zimbabwe’s robust economy was already in “limbo”. This technique is essential for policy debates, in which students must make a variety of arguments supporting their side of a topic. In classroom discussions, students can use assertions, reasoning, and evidence to advance their ideas and hone their ability to make complete arguments.
Refuting An Argument
Policy debate is not just about making points for your side. Students must also answer points that others have made. One simple procedure that students can use to respectfully answer others in an organized way is the four-step refutation. Step1 (“They…say….”): the students refer to the argument he or she is about to answer-an essential element in complex discussion. A student might begin,” They say that Zimbabwe’s reversed land policy system by President Robert Mugabe caused the fall of the nation’s robust economy (because the white agronomists who were the economy’s engine were deprived of their land, thus unable to continue with business as usual).
Step 2 (But.) the student makes his/her counterpoint, similar to a counter-assertion: but actually it was the UK and U.S sanctions that caused the economy’s fall.
Step 3 (“Because.”); the student supports that point; because by throwing sanctions on Zimbabwe, the economy was left to suffocate without any breathing space, and hence leading to its consequent death.
Step 4 (“Therefore…”) the students, compares, contrasts, or synthesizes the competing ideas, “therefore, it’s more likely that the unnecessary UK and US sanctions on Zimbabwe caused the fall of the Nation’s economy rather than the loss of farm land by the Nation’s white agronomists.
General Rules of The Debate League
The league shall begin in the third term of Uganda’s school calendar, on dates to be confirmed after receiving sponsorship.
The league shall have five different tournaments between a time lapse of two weeks from the time of kick-off, comprising 20 Ugandan schools plus 4 guest schools from Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and West Africa. The organizers shall well in advance decide upon announcing the league details: date, venues, the resolution, and participation requirements. At the same time the organizers shall decide upon the deadline of the entries on the same day when the date of competition is confirmed. The entry deadline however, should not be earlier than one month after the league details are announced. Once the league details are decided upon, the organizers shall then spread the news of how the league shall run, including lists of topics to be debated upon. In any league clash, the school that accumulates more points than the other, qualifies to the next tournament,
Why participate in the African Schools Debate League championship?
Participation in the African Schools Debate League championship is of such top-heavy value because the preparation, and delivery of various debate arguments on during the competition; shall provide participating students with the chance to think critically, and develop their academic research skills, improve their communication abilities, solve problems creatively, and increase their self confidence.
This shall be so, because all the students that shall be involved in these debates will be able to engage in regular writing, information analysis, and in--depth library, and Internet research.
Hence the process culminating into higher grades for debaters compared to non-debaters in both high and secondary schools. The debate league shall also be a platform for the voiceless to speak out their views effectively and respond to arguments of those who disagree with them
Available Opportunities
The African Schools debate league championship has got various Job opportunities for people willing to offer their unique set of skills and talents, such as:
-Logistic Support officers
-Youth Mentors
-Judges
-Chaperones
-Office work vendors
-Transportation officers
Responsibilities of Key Team Members
The Initiative Executive - Is in charge of the league, and is in charge of recruiting, and helping schools to participate in the league. The league Initiative Executive is also in charge of soliciting, and setting topics for upcoming contests. A month before a contest, he may send out a call for topics to debate teachers/coaches, and students can then send in their topic suggestions. The Initiative Executive works to assemble a balanced and interesting set of topics for the upcoming contests, and sends them out to league schools a month or two weeks before the tournament.
The Secretary, -Is in charge of talking notes during crucial debate league meetings, which normally occur during contests. He/She submits these minutes to all members creating an official record for the league.
Treasurer- is the officer responsible for paying trophy bills for the League. The league may decide for the league treasurer to send out dues to invoice, and then collect to deposit in the league’s bank account. These dues are used to pay league operating expenses, trophies, and other awards that are given out at the end of the debate league.
Venues of Contest
Once the date of the league has been confirmed, the league organizers (African Revelations Communication Group) shall set a dues structure and a league schedule. Several participating and non-participating schools shall have to bid to host debate league contests during the course of the league since this can be lucrative for the hosting schools through the selling of concessions, and advertising stalls.
Time Duration of Debate the league
The African Debate League championship shall endure for 2-months with 24 Participating teams, 5 tournaments and ending with an award ceremony
