Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said that students should engage in debate as it’ll help them in developing good mentality, acquiring knowledge and sharpening their talents.
Momen said this while speaking as the chief guest at the concluding ceremony of 14th Nafia Gazi Inter-department Debating Competition arranged by Dhaka University Debating Society (DUDS) at the Teacher Student Center (TSC) Auditorium in the capital on Sunday evening.
“A debating competition is won by beautiful presentation of arguments, reliable information and contextual examples. When I was a Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, I was able to get all the objectives of the Bangladesh government approved in various resolutions of the world body. This was possible due to proper presentation of facts and arguments,” the Minister said.
Momen added that among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN, 11 were proposed by Bangladesh alone.
“To make a debate successful, choosing proper and acceptable words is mandatory. A debater has to justify information by reasoning. Besides, a debater has to know how to apply the Rules of Procedure and when to take floor during Point of Order. Most importantly, teamwork is necessary to become good at debating,” Momen added.
Later, Momen congratulated the winning teams and handed over the prizes to them.
DUDS has been organizing the competition since 1992. It is dedicated to Nafia Gazi, a student of the university and a former debater who was killed in a road accident.
This year, seven national and nine international debating teams had participated in the competition. India’s Institute of Technology (IIT) became champion in the international category, while University of Chittagong (CU) was the runner up.
The event was presided over by DUDS President Sheikh Md Arman. Prof Dr Mashiur Rahman, Vice Chancellor (VC) of National University, was present as the Chief Discussant, while Prof Dr Mahbuba Nasrin, Pro VC (Education) of Bangladesh Open University, among others, were present as special guest.
Source: United News of Bangladesh