Team Qatar (girls) won the first place at the third International Universities Arabic Debating Championship, which was held in Doha recently.
Held under the patronage of HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, vice-chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), the event came to a close with a ceremony organised by QatarDebate, a member of QF.
Thirty-three Arab and non-Arab countries, represented by 67 teams, took part in the championship held at Qatar National Convention Centre, led by Dr Hayat Marafi, executive director of QatarDebate.
Members of Team Qatar, which beat Tunisia in the final round, said the victory was the result of three years of hard work and preparation. They praised the role of QatarDebate, which provided them with training and equipped them with the required skills to build a strong team to win the event. Two other teams from Qatar University (QU) won the third and fourth places in the championship.
The closing ceremony was held in the presence of Jassim Telefat, Group executive director (Capital Projects) at QF; Dr Marafi; Essa al-Mannai, executive director of Reach Out to Asia; Dr Omar al-Ansari, QU vice-president; and the ambassadors of some of the countries participating in the event.
Dr Hayat expressed gratitude to QF, HE Sheikha Hind and Saad al-Muhannadi, president of QF, for their support.
Further, Dr Hayat thanked all those who contributed towards the success of the championship, including Qatar Airways - the official carrier, local and international judges, the media, the Department of Communications at QF and all other departments concerned.
The winning teams at the closing ceremony.
