United Asian Debating Championship (UADC), the largest inter-varsity Parliamentary Debate tournament in Asia with over 600 participants was held in Bandung, Indonesia this year. It is said to be one of the most prestigious debating championships throughout the world. Amongst the 62 teams that participated this year, the winners were the team from Independent University Bangladesh Debating Club of, which is said to be one of the top two in Asia. The team IUB 1 have made their mark in history and the entire nation proud.
The bright minds bringing the trophy to Bangladesh were Nabil Hasan, a Master's student of IUB, Aaqib Hossain, who's enrolled at a Master’s programme at IUB, and Zobayer Ahmed, who's an undergraduate there.
“The battle for glory was not that easy for IUB 1 as the team was not fully prepared before the competition,” said Nabil. “We had around seven rounds of debate at BUET and that was the only thing we had as practice,” he added. “On the contrary, other teams were practising once every week.”
The team faced a lot of challenges throughout but handled them quite well because of Nabil and Aaqib's experience and expertise in this particular sector for a time span of over eight years. Zobayer, on the other hand, made his début at an international competition and achieved the trophy along with his mates.
Debaters of our country did not always have the opportunity to represent themselves internationally, which was a strong barrier for them when it came to learning more. As soon as they got the opportunity to do so, their skills began to improve and they became more confident. The more they participated, the more they learned. “It feels great to be the role model for the debaters of the upcoming generation,” said Nabil.
“If it's anything, our vision is to provide a platform in which people can grow as a person and work on their communication skills,” said Zobayer, while talking about the debating club of Independent University, Bangladesh.
”Debating is not just about learning to talk; it is about the mind set, the transformation in your way of thinking and values. You become open to ideas and I think it is something really, really important, especially when it comes to Bangladesh. And these are values instilled by debaters in the club,” he added.
What this win means for the future of the debating scene in Bangladesh
Our debaters have been competing in national and international tournaments and are gradually gaining experience which is enhancing their skills. IUB 1 bringing the trophy home has created an enthusiasm amongst youngsters to pursue a new tournament. This will go on as long as we have debaters amongst us. This is one of core reasons behind the improvement of the debating scene of Bangladesh.
