KATHMANDU, Sept 29: Team Agulto and Team Meth-lav respectively won Nepali and English categories of the Kathmandu Debating Challenge (KDC), a two-day debate competition held at Kathmandu Model College (KMC) in Balkumari on September 26 and 27. They were presented with certificates, medals and trophies amidst a function held at KMC on September 27.
Organized by Debate Yatra (DY), a group that has been working to promote debating spirit in the capital for a year now, KDC was based on British Parliamentary format – a popular debate format that entails debate between four teams, two in each. The tournament saw participation of 28 teams in English category, and six in Nepali category.
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Shulav Neupane (left) and Nawaj KC (right) from Team Meth-lav pose with their trophy. (Photos Courtesy: Debate Yatra)
"The debaters here need more platforms like this to harness their skill. Through DY we're planning to organize at least three such tournaments every year," said Saurav Bhatta, co-founder of Debate Yatra.The tournament which entailed a hectic schedule of three-rounds of group staged tournaments on the first day and semis and finals on the second, contained many challenging motions. In fact, Saurav adds that these motions were a result of much thought. "This year we put some good amount of work on selecting motions. There were motions such as 'This house regrets Greece's presence in the Euro zone,' which wasn't an easy topic. It involved a lot of research and critical analysis, which was our aim," said Saurav, who also was the tournament director.
Nonetheless, every year debaters in the capital are getting better which is certainly a great treat for adjudicators. Raj Kharel, who has judged in four other debate tournaments in the past and was a member of chief adjudication panel at KDC, shares, "It's encouraging to see the debaters grow both in quality and quantity. More people are interested in debating and they're getting better every year. This marks a win-win situation for both the judges and the debaters."
