City to host debate meet on Sept 30

GUWAHATI: Debating has always been an interesting subject for students as it gives them a lot of ideas and insights into thinking logically. Keeping this in view, the British Council and Institute of Ideas has organized a competition titled "Debating Matters," a platform which would give the students an opportunity to express themselves.
The competition would be held at the Sarla Birla Gyan Jyoti School on September 30, where students from different schools of the region would participate.This is the second time that the event is being held in the city.
Samarjit Guha, the programme manager of British Council who addressed the media on Wednesday, said "This is the second time that this competition is being held in the city. Last year, too, the competition had taken place and Maharshi Vidya Mndir had qualified for the national finale."
According to the organizers, this competition is different from other regular debate events. Here, the emphasis is on the participant's knowledge on the topic, rather than his speech or diction. The audience, too, plays a crucial role as they have to express their views on the topic along with the participants, they added.
Helen Brstworth, the speaker of Institute of Ideas who was also present at the meeting, said, "The competition is very popular in UK and now it is being liked in India also. The difference between other debates and our event is that it helps the students to think in-depth and challenge the burning issues of society."
She added "It mainly tests how much the students are aware of the given topics and how they can put their ideas across." Zerifa Wahid, the local co-ordinator for this competition, said, "The event was very well accepted by students last year. The best part of the competition is that it is unconventional and there is a chance for everyone, starting from the participants to the audience, to express their views."
She added, " The topics that are given are very recent and burning issues of our society. Then there would be another competition in Delhi and the grand finale would be held in the UK."