Under the patronage of HE the Vice-Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, the 4th International Universities Arabic Debating Championships (IUADCs) kicked off yesterday.

The event is organised by QatarDebate (QD), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF). The five-day championship brings together 84 universities from 46 Arab and foreign countries with 87 teams competing for the title in the event held by QatarDebate every two years.

The event aims at spreading the culture of constructive dialogue in the world and enhancing the status of the Arabic language through debate, especially as the tournament is attended by many foreign universities with Arabic speaking teams.

Addressing the opening, QatarDebate Executive Director Dr Hayat Abdullah Marafi said that the competition attracts an elite group of young people from six continents who will debate over five days in an honest competition that is witnessing a large number of teams and remarkable participation of non-Arab universities.

She noted that the championship aims at establishing a fruitful dialogue and an exemplary debate, providing a platform for opinions and differences and harnessing the capabilities to invest in youth, adding that the international championship also aims at spreading the Arabic language in a modern, practical and simplified way, especially that QatarDebate is one of the guardians of the Arabic language.

These goals contribute to the advancement of education outcomes and to the creation of future leaders, she said.

The championship is divided into five rounds before moving on to the quarterfinals, and the semi-final to reach the final round, which will bring together the best two teams in the competition next Wednesday.

Qatar is taking part in the championship through two teams from Qatar University (boys and girls), two teams from the Community College (boys and girls) and one team from the Police Collage.

The International Universities Arabic Debating Championships (IUADCs) supports Qatar Foundation’s mission to promote human potentials by encouraging the culture of positive and constructive dialogue, aiming at promoting the concept of global citizenship, reviving the Arabic language and creating future leaders.