Great Debate competition comes to town

Islamabad: The British High Commission’s annual Great Debate competition continued with a semi-final event at the FAST National University in Islamabad.

The event brought together debaters from across universities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. After a competitive round of fixtures, Ibrahim Zulfiqar, from The City School and Nosherwan Fayyaz, from FAST National University were judged to be the winner and runner-up respectively.

Speaking on the occasion, British Deputy High Commissioner Richard Crowder said that this year a key focus of the UK’s work in Pakistan is engaging with the young people of this vibrant and dynamic country. “I am delighted that the third edition of our GREAT Debate competition has given over a hundred young debaters across four cities so far the opportunity to discuss important topics that include peace, prosperity and democracy. “I look forward to the upcoming heats in Lahore and Faisalabad and I hope to see the winner and runner-up from today continue their strong performance in the final in Islamabad on 3rd March.”

The Great Debate 2017 is the third annual edition of the competition that gives students from across Pakistan a platform to participate in debates, interact with other students from different universities and hone their skills in research, analytical thinking and public speaking. Winners and runner-ups from the semi-finals will be given one year British Council digital library memberships. The winner and runner-up of the overall competition will receive a scholarship reward to contribute towards their tuition fees. The Great Debate is a debating competition for university students. There will be seven semi-finals – in seven different cities (Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Gujarat, Faisalabad and Mirpur) involving students from over 50 leading universities across Pakistan – and the winner and runner-up of each semi-final will compete in the final in Islamabad.