Students train in debate and public speaking

I debate in collaboration with the Goethe Institut organised a week of debate and speech training for secondary school students. The Debate that was themed “Liberate your speech” was hosted at the Goethe Institut grand studio from the 1st to 5th of April. Samuel Baker, Jean Michel Habineza and Teta Christine some of the best debaters in the country were mentors during the workshop. Samuel Baker praised the participants, saying, there was a great improvement and tremendous change in the level of debate and public speaking. “The workshop was meant to engage students in something constructive this holiday,” he said. He added that iDebate as well as Goethe Institut, were pleased with the results. Among the activities that took place was a debate on Thursday that was followed with corrections and another practise session on the final day. Richard Ngoga, a student from Byimana School of Sciences in the Southern Province, said that the debate was informative and he had been learning new things each day.“It was my first time to debate but now I know how to debate. But more importantly my role during the debate whether as a first speaker, second or third. These people are very professional and they are able to teach you in a way that makes everything seem so easy,” he said. Ngoga added that great public speaking was also one of the skills he left the workshop with. School debates have become an exciting part of extracurricular activities in many countries. They provide a platform for students to practice their linguistic and intellectual abilities. Debates compel students to be able to think quickly on their feet and present their opinions in a logical and systematic format.