QatarDebate has succeeded in recent years to enter agreements with some of the largest American universities such as the University of Chicago, Harvard, Utah, Western Kentucky, Illinois, to name a few, to implement specific programmes for debates in the Arabic language, aimed to promote the language in an unconventional way.

As part of the celebration of the Qatar-USA Year of Culture 2021, a delegation from QatarDebate recently visited the United States to inaugurate the QatarDebate Majlis at Western Kentucky University. During this visit, the delegation also held the second edition of the Arabic Debate Capacity Building Program and the second debate curriculum forum.

According to QatarDebate Executive Director, Dr Hayat Marafi, the centre’s activities in the US provide an open platform for discussion and exchange of knowledge about Arab and global issues, calling on students to explore the Arab perspective on global issues.

Dr Marafi said that during the past years, QatarDebate managed to launch the first American Arabic Debating Championship hosted by Harvard University. The centre also contributed to the adoption of a new curriculum to teach Arabic through the art of debates in many American universities. Work is now underway to establish the American Debating Association in the Arabic Language.

Interactive approach

QatarDebate follows a creative and interactive approach in achieving its message. The centre works to promote and spread Arab culture through various activities while engaging students and youth in the learning cycle. The results of these initiatives can be seen through the increasing demand to join the centre’s programmes, and through the requests for partnership and cooperation that the centre constantly receives.

QatarDebate is proud of what it is achieving in the United States, says Dr Marafi.

Despite the great responsibility and effort expended to achieve the aspirations of partner educational institutions and the aspiring generations to learn the language and interact with Arab culture, the centre’s members work hard, and with faith, to continue carrying the torch of Qatar to light the paths of future generations who are eager to learn the Arabic language, and to learn about the history and present of Arab civilisation.

QatarDebate is a member of Qatar Foundation. To learn more about QatarDebate, visit qatardebate.org. 

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