The Debate Society of University of Ghana won two Gold, two silver and a Bronze medal at the just ended 6th edition of the Ghana Universities Debate Championship (GUDC) hosted by All Nations University College, Koforidua which took place from the 18th to 27th July, 2019.
The Championship which was under the theme "Advancing debate; A sure strategy towards improved dialogue and public discourse" and dubbed “Ogyamframa” (flames of fire) had 10 Universities participating namely; University of Ghana, All Nations University, University of Cape Coast, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Education, Kumasi Campus, University for Development Studies, Tamale, University of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Islamic University and Perez University, Winneba.
Performance of Team UG
Team UG improved upon their performance in the 2018 Championship having two teams in both the Open and Novice Debate categories.
In the Open Debate finals, UG was represented by Solomon Omani-Mensah and Jeremiah Kobby Sekyi(Team name: Akim Oda) and Saki Sosi and Safo Kwame Oheneba (Team name: Yilo Krobo). The motion for the final was “The house believes that Africa should pay reparations to black Diasporan/descendants of former slaves as precondition to Pan-African Unification.” They placed 3rd and 4th respectively with University of Cape Coast winning the Championship for the first time since its inception at the expense of defending champions Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology who placed 2nd.
UG picks Silver in Novice Finals
In the Novice Debate finals, UG was represented by Roselyn Buerki Plahar and Xolali Anaglate (Team name: Kade) and Abdul Fataw and Jonas Abbey Thompson (Team name: Dade Kotopon). They spoke on the motion “This house will adopt a proportional representation system, where parliamentary seat allocation is based on attainment of a minimum total number of votes earned in the general elections.” KNUST won the final with the two UG teams placing 2nd and 4th respectively.
Maureen Kyere Best Public Speaker
Ms. Maureen Kyere, level 200 student reading law was adjudged the best speaker at the 6th edition of the Ghana Universities Debate Championship. The other members of Team UG in the finals were Roselyn Buerki Plahar, Daniel Nana Yaw Obeng and Jonas Abbey Thompson.
Kelly Corchil Best Judge at GUDC
Kelly Kwame Corchil, one of the promising debaters in the Society won the best Judge award at the end of the Championship. The 2nd and 3rd place awards also went to Maureen Kyere and Alexandra Akwoviah respectively.
Trainers of Team UG Impressed with Performance
Mr. Lawrence Neequaye, the Assistant Debate Coach, remarked that the goal for the Championship was not just about training the debaters for competitions but to groom and shape minds and personalities holistically to contribute to the development of the nation.
“We put up a tremendous show and we saw progress with our aim of grooming a formidable team and personalities for the development of Ghana. Apart from the Debate which we could not win though we had two teams in both the Open and Novice finals, we were able to produce the best Public Speaker and the three top Judges out of a pool of fifty shows the determination and hardwork exhibited by the debaters and technical team led by Antonio Edem Asinyo.”
He added that, he hopes the experience picked up in Koforidua will fuel them to continue to improve ahead of the Pan African Universities Debate Championship to be hosted by KNUST and the World Universities Debate Championship at Temple University in Bangkok, Thailand. Both Competitions are scheduled for December 2019.
Congratulations to the Debate Society of the University of Ghana
