Doha – QatarDebate Center :

Under the patronage of Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, the 4th International Schools Debating Championship in Arabic was launched yesterday morning, organized by QatarDebate – a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development – with the participation of 50 Arab and foreign countries. At the Qatar National Convention Center, the tournament will continue until April 11.
The opening ceremony was attended by a large number of participating delegations and officials of the sponsoring authorities, and a documentary film was shown that dealt with the story of the unjust siege imposed on Qatar by some Arab countries and the importance of dialogue in resolving various crises.

The film was shown after a speech by Dr. Hayat Marafie, Executive Director of QatarDebate, during which she announced the new ambassadors of QatarDebate Center: Al-Miqdad Ahmed from the Republic of Sudan, Badr Fouad Al-Shatti from the State of Kuwait, and from the State of Qatar Muhammad Al-Lukhan Al-Marri, confirming in this aspect that this The title is a tribute to the efforts of these young people for their energy, talents and time, which they employed in the service of debate and the Arabic language over years of giving and continuous cooperation with the Center and to encourage the rest of the youth to follow in their footsteps.

In her speech, Dr. Hayat Marafie expressed her happiness and pride at the opening of the tournament, and the reception of delegations participating in the country of goodness and love, the country of dialogue and the word of reason and logic, stressing that she is as happy as the participants in this tournament and the repetition of many faces with their souls eager for science and knowledge, she is sad for the loss of a number of those Participate earlier because circumstances prevented them from attending.
She said, “I assure you that, to God be the glory, they are moving towards realizing their dreams. We ask God Almighty to bring us together with them soon.”

In her account of the history of the tournament since its inception in 2012, she said that in its first edition, 21 countries participated, including one non-Arab country, and in its second edition in 2014, 22 countries participated, including 4 non-Arab countries, and about 50 countries participated in the edition. The third of the tournament, in 2016, of which 30 are non-Arab countries, noting that the fourth edition receives 50 countries, including 35 non-Arab countries.
The Executive Director of QatarDebate pointed out that this great momentum that characterized the tournament over the previous four editions is conclusive evidence of its merit and the ability of the debate to spread the Arabic language globally, and its importance as a lifestyle that includes important life skills, pointing out that it is a tournament based on the foundations of Sound and consistent, clear and explicit goals, and a strong and coherent construction, as this work is the result of the hard work and effort of the youth of QatarDebate

During her speech at the ceremony, Dr. Hayat indicated that this work came as a result of close cooperation between all the participants, and it took a deeper, broader, more feasible and objective dimension, which led to the cohesion of everyone to elevate this annual event to the level of a globally influential force, as this work presents an optimal picture of the cooperation required in Our communities to build a strong community that leads its way in life with clarity and insight.

At the end of her speech, Dr. Hayat Marafie directed her speech to the participating delegations from the youth, the necessity of paying attention to the minds with whose light we transform the weakness of souls into a force that creates victory, civilization, progress and prosperity, stressing the need to develop the Arabic language, which constitutes a special identity that distinguishes its speakers from others.

She called on young people to learn about the cultures and opinions of others, to search for similarities and work to strengthen them, taking into account and appreciating differences, investing time and taking advantage of all available opportunities.

For his part, Mohammed Al-Lukhan Al-Marri, the master of the ceremony, welcomed the attendees, expressing his thanks for accepting the invitation and participating in the 4th International Schools Debating Championship in Arabic, stressing that QatarDebate united the tongues of the participants in the tournament, where the colors of the different flags were mixed to form a wonderful painting that represented this masterpiece the logo of this tournament. Under the umbrella of Qatar Foundation.

He added that the debate in the Arabic language is rooted in our lives, and we can never uproot it, and from this blessed land the flame of debates was launched and its reputation reached the world, pointing out that for the first time, 8 new non-Arab countries participated, namely “Russia – Kosovo – Spain – Thailand – Serbia – Albania – Poland – Kyrgyzstan.
The master of the ceremony thanked everyone who contributed to this wonderful show, which proves to everyone that the blockade was an incentive to open the doors of cooperation with the countries of the world, as well as the official sponsor of the tournament: Qatar Primary Materials Company, the international media partner Al Jazeera Network, and the official carrier Qatar Airways.