04 Feb Ulidia Launches Concern NI Debates
The ‘Concern Debates’ is the biggest school debating competition in the South of Ireland. Being Concern Worldwide’s flagship schools activity, the Concern Worldwide debates have been running for over 30 years. Throughout the competition’s history, more than 45,000 students have engaged in the debates and around 120 schools participate annually.
On Tuesday, Ulidia students took part in the first Concern debate this side of the border, starting in the North what we hope will become a tradition of giving a voice to the poor, the hungry and the exploited in our world.
The motion was, “Aid to the developing world is a luxury we cannot afford.” The opposing team was Our Lady and St Patrick’s College, Belfast.
We lost our first debate.
We are annoyed – after all, we wanted to win – but we had to support the motion although we strongly believe that international aid can really make a difference. It is a difficult task to argue, defend and convince adjudicators when one does not wholeheartedly believe in the opinion being presented.
Past the initial disappointment, we are not that sad; the delivery of the arguments and the closing speech were nearly faultless. Our students can be very proud of their performance. Already, Ulidia’s Debating Society students are learning the valuable skills of researching, verbalising and debating.
Bring on the next debate!
