The UTG debate association on 2 March 2012 opened the second edition of the US Ambassador’s Debate Championship at the
The debate brought together students from different senior schools and tertiary institutions in the country.
In his welcoming remarks, Kebba Bojang, president of UTG Debating Association, said the activity is all about teaching high school students how to make research and how to become good public speakers.
“We are doing this so that when you come to the UTG you will be familiar with many things we are doing here,” Mr Bojang said.
For his part, Abdul Karim Kamara, Head of Department Division of Humanity and Social Sciences, said there are no boundaries in search of knowledge.
He encourages the participants to continue making research and keep up the momentum.
In his speech, Dr Pierre Gomez, Dean of School of Arts and Science, said senior secondary school is not their permanent destination or target for this initiative.
There is higher school today because there has been basic school and it is important to note that the UTG is there to respond to societal demands, he says, adding that they are of the view that the third learning strategy is when students interact among themselves.
“Learn from history to learn what happened before to avoid mistakes,” he added, saying: “We should also learn from other people.”
In his opening remarks on the occasion, Ansumana Darboe of the UTG commended the university’s debating association for successfully organising the second edition.
“This shows the level of commitment the student have and it shows how willing they are to give back to the society,” he said, adding that the students that participated last year have been awarded scholarships. “This time around is the opportunity for the students who are seated here to show us their talent and we will guide them through,” he stated.
He also said the UTG debate association has given the students confidence and helped them in public speaking, while urging them to take the exercise seriously.
The competitors of the senior secondary school debate championship included SOS Hermann Gmeiner Senior Secondary and
SOS, who were the previous champions, retained the title for the second time while one Yassin Choye emerged the ‘Best Speaker’.