IUB Debating Club is organizing IUB Ascension 2018, an international debating program at the campus of Independent University Bangladesh. In its third year, the event has come to attract much attention nationally and internationally. This year, a total of 116 teams from schools, colleges, and universities, are set to participate in the tournament.
Each team will consist of two members, and will battle it out for three different titles - novice championship, high-school championship, and the most coveted title of champion of IUB Ascension 2018.
The precursor to having an incredible debate tournament is an incredible adjudication core, and the IUB debating club has assembled one of the best cores ever assembled within South Asia for IUB Ascension 2018.
Harish Natarajan
Leading the way is Cambridge, Oxford and PEP Alumnus Harish Natarajan. He is a former chief adjudicator for tournaments such as World University Debating Championship (WUDC) and European Universities Debating Championship. Harish's rhetorical and adjudication prowess has enshrined him into debate folklore, as many debaters claim, they grew up watching Harish’s debate speeches.
Yarn Shih
The next person on the adjudication core is one of the finest to emerge in Asian Debating. Hailing from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, his debating prowess has seen him become a WUDC quarter finalist and champion at Asian British Parliamentary (ABP) 2015. His adjudication prowess has also seen him travel the globe setting excellent and thought provoking motions along the way.
Adel Mostaque Ahmed
This man has helped shape the tournament Ascension from the first edition in 2016. From Tabbing to designing transport routes he has done it all for the tournament and this time he takes up the core throne. As an adjudicator he has qualified for the knock-out rounds at numerous Asian tournaments and has been a part of the Asian School Debating Championship. A core figure behind not just Institute of Business Administration - Dhaka University Debate Club, but indeed the entire Bangladesh circuit he has been the reliable figure behind historical national tournaments ranging from numerous Pre-World School Debating Championships to tournaments held all across the country in both Bangla and English. He is a true hero behind Bangladeshi's debating excellence.
Rawnak Zaheen Wasi
The final member of the adjudication core has been one of the torch bearers of Bangladesh Debate over the last few years. His baritone delivery, raw passion and never-say-die attitude saw him scale heights previously thought to be unimaginable. The world recognized his unique gift of rhetoric as he broke (qualified for the knock-out rounds) English as a Secondary Language category at his first WUDC in 2015, which was followed by breaks at United Asian Debating Championship 2017 and ABP 2016 but the glass ceiling was shattered as he took to the podium in the grand finale of Krabi ABP 2017.
The nation cheered on as he became best speaker of the finale and delivered the country’s maiden ABP championship. Not content with being a debating hero, he came back and took up a much coveted job in British American Tobacco but not before one last attempt to make some history – which he did by being a part of the first Bangladeshi team to break main at Australs Debating Championship.
Throughout his transformation from a tenacious dreamer to the man living those dreams, he also found the time to coach institutions such as Mastermind and Rajuk, helping them reach new heights of debating relevance, and was entrusted with duties of coaching Team Bangladesh for World School Debating Championshp. He is the current Deputy Chair of the Bangladesh Debating Council.
Bobby Andika Ruitang
Bobby Andika RuitangHe is a World University Debating Championship ESL grand finalist and one of the most accomplished adjudicators in the global debating arena, hailing from Indonesia.
Cara Riantoputra
She is a WUDC ESL quarter-finalist and ABP quarter-finalist she has picked up accolades wherever she has gone as a speaker and an adjudicator. She is from the University of Indonesia.
The Tab Team
The heartbeat of every tournament is its tab team - ensuring pinpoint precision and ruthless efficiency is their task of keeping track of the results after the conclusion of each round.
Tawhid Chowdhury from North South University Debating Club, is a veteran tab director in both Bangla and English, who also featured as a tab director for Ascension last year.
Salwaa Khan, IUB's resident wonder kid who has already blitzed through landmark tournaments such as Pre-WSDC, IUB Ascension, Bangladesh University of Professionals Inter-Varsity Tournament and Scholastica Inter-school Debating Tournament as a tab director after her début not so long ago.
Wakil Ahmed Arnob and Raguib Raihan, the tech aficionados from Islamic University of Technology who will be bringing the prowess of the north to Ascension having previously helmed tournaments such as Josephite Debating Club Eloquence and East West University Debate Spree.
