Qatari student, Moza Alhajri at Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) recently held the unique honour of serving as the master of ceremonies of the inaugural International Conference on Debate and Dialogue (ICDD), an event organised by QatarDebate (QD).The two-day conference brought together the global debate community of researchers, academics, and practitioners to promote the development of knowledge production in the fields of debate, dialogue, and argumentation. And in her role as moderator of the first panel, Moza said she felt a unique responsibility. "I was acutely aware that I would be the first impression the audience would get of a very new and different initiative by QD, which is expanding beyond conducting international competitive championships, to organising conferences that study the impact of competitive debate tournaments and to examine and evaluate them.”The International Economics major at GU-Q is not just passionate about arguing, she excels at it. Competing at the 2nd Asian Arabic Debating Championship held in Oman, Moza emerged victorious, winning Best Speaker and helping the GU-Q Arabic Debate Team reach the top four winner’s circle. Moza's involvement with the Qatar National Debate team in the past, coupled with her current role as an ambassador for QatarDebate, has positioned her as a rising star in the field."I was involved with the ICDD conference from the very beginning with the brainstorming session that took place earlier this year. After that, I was involved in the planning, drafting, and content development, as well as communication with the impressive roster of panelists and participants who attended.”Under the title of "Debate Institutes: Role and Impact,” and in the presence of high ranking government officials and leaders in the debating world from around the world, she asked the panelists about the purpose behind their work and their plans for expanding their impact to wide regions and institutionalizing the practice of debate.The theme that resonated most with Moza was the issue of Islamic Heritage in debate, which touched on her interests in elevating Arabic language debate and focusing on local culture and society, not only Western approaches to the field. She added:"I think it is important to look back at our tradition of dialogue and study it to be able to adopt the values it stemmed from, as well as see a different point of view from which we can evaluate and possibly challenge the current competitive debate format.”
July 29, 2023 | 10:33 PM