A new initiative aimed at fostering critical thinking and dialogue skills among students ahead of the 2026/2027 academic year

Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education (PUE), in collaboration with QatarDebate Center – Founded by Qatar Foundation – is organizing an introductory training workshop to prepare for the activation of Arabic-language debate activities across its schools. The workshop marks the launch of Arabic student debate clubs for the 2026/2027 academic year, as part of ongoing efforts to enhance students’ dialogue and critical thinking skills while strengthening the role of the Arabic language in educational and interactive spaces.

Held from May 20–21, 2026, the workshop targets supervisors and teachers from participating schools, aiming to equip them with the necessary tools to oversee debate clubs and implement training programs based on global best practices in debate and dialogue education. The program includes a detailed review of the training curriculum, the implementation timeline, and operational mechanisms, alongside practical training on debate skills, argument construction, and rebuttal. This aims to ensure the sustainability of expertise within schools and bolster the readiness of educational teams ahead of the project’s launch. The initiative will be implemented as a pilot program during the 2026/2027 academic year in selected schools, with plans to expand the project in the future based on the outcomes of the pilot phase.

Rawda Al-Saadi, Head of Community Engagement in the Student Affairs and Community Engagement Department at PUE, stated: “This workshop represents a fundamental step toward building an educational environment that encourages conscious expression and constructive dialogue. Through it, we aim to prepare educators capable of nurturing student talent and developing critical thinking and analytical skills in Arabic.”

For his part, Saad Al-Asad, Senior Debate Trainer and Project Supervisor at QatarDebate Center, added: “We believe in the importance of investing in the training of supervisors and teachers, as they are the cornerstone for activating debate activities within schools. This workshop provides an opportunity to share the methodologies and expertise used to train students in debate and critical thinking skills.”