Faculty Oversee Public Debate Competition
LAU English Senior Instructor Nermine Mufti, in collaboration with the Women Leaders’ Council (WLC), organized a Debate Competition between two public schools at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
The event, attended by Lebanese Minister of Education Akram Chehayeb, is part of the project Youth Leaders’ Voices.
English Department Chairperson Victor Khachan and Associate Chair Dany Badran judged the competition between the teams from Riad El Solh Public School and Gibran Tueni Public School.
“The aim of the project is to introduce the art of debating in Arabic among Grade 11 students. Something public schools do not have,” said Mufti, who is the head of WLC’s Education Committee and a member of its board.
“Only two schools were selected since this was a pilot. As of next year, the WLC Education Committee, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, will implement this project in as many public schools as possible,” she added.
The project’s main objective, Mufti said, was to teach high school students the art of communication through effective listening. It also seeks to foster public speech and the skills of debating and improvising, and promotes tolerance by accepting diversified opinions, and reinforces classical Arabic.