At a glittering awards function in Pretoria last night, three learners from the Eastern Cape beat stiff competition to win the finals of the national debates tournament.

Over the weekend the top debating teams from North West Province, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal faced each other in an eloquent battle of wits. In the final round the members of the Eastern Cape team, Andrew de Blocq, Anade Situma, and Ndzwayiba Makabongwe trumped worthy opponents Rebone Matabane, Sizwe Moagi, and Kgwerano Mpamonyane of the Limpopo team.

Andrew de Blocq of St Andrews College in Grahamstown also received the prize for the best overall speaker.

The national debates tournament, an initiative of the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) in partnership with the South African Schools Debating Board (SASDB) gives learners an opportunity to develop and fine-tune their skills in scientific research, critical thinking and information literacy, as well as their ability to work as a team to present logical, clear arguments.

The 26 learners comprising the regional teams debated five broad, societally relevant and multidisciplinary themes around the International Year of Planet Earth initiative -, megacities, Earth observation, Earth conservation, water, and non-renewable resources. .

In his address Prof Maartin de Wit of the South African National Committee for International Year of Planet Earth described the high standard of the debates and the deep insight into environmental issues demonstrated by the participants as a definite highlight and a fitting finale for the South African IYPE initiative, which officially ended last night.

The deputy minister of science and technology, Derek Hanekom, in his keynote address highlighted the insight and understanding the young learners displayed into issues of environmental concern and the fact that poverty marches along with problems such as pollution of natural resources such as water.

“It is up to us and future generations to find smart ways and smart actions to solve these problems,” he told the audience. “Our challenge is to find the right formula to offer all the people of the world a decent, sustainable lifestyle. It is therefore imperative that we understand life systems so that we know how to protect our natural resources.”

He agreed with the winning team that we are facing a grim and frightening reality with global warming and the depletion of our natural resources, but also pointed out it is not all doom and gloom.

“My department is supporting several initiatives to enable us to understand the science of what is happening, interpret the facts, debate the issues and come up with solutions,”  he said, adding that it was vital to develop analytical skills to find the best course of action into the future.

“This is precisely where the value of initiatives such as the national debates tournament lies,” he said. He praised SAASTA and its partners for instilling a culture of healthy debate and respect for other people and their views in the participants, and paid special tribute to the educators who spent many hours encouraging the learners and assisting them in their preparations.

Beverley Damonse, executive director of SAASTA, admitted that she was bowled over by the brilliance of the speakers and their self-possession and confidence. “It takes some doing to speak in front of an audience, especially one that includes a deputy minister and several professors,” she said.

Participation in the regional and national debates tournaments brought several other perks for the learners. As part of the educational activities surrounding the national debates, for example, learners attended a “Climate Champs” course sponsored and presented by the British Council to prepare them to become fluent and effective ambassadors for the environment.

The best speakers of each of the participating provinces will have the opportunity to visit the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) in Sutherland, where they will be taken on a tour of the facility.

For more information, please visit www.debate.org.za, www.saasta.ac.za and www.pub.ac.za.

NOTE FOR EDITORS

The South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) aims to advance public awareness, appreciation and engagement of science, engineering and technology in South Africa. SAASTA is a business unit for the National Research Foundation (NRF).

CONTACTS FOR SAASTA SCHOOLS DEBATING TOURNAMENT

Lorenzo Raynard
Manager: Science Communication
South African Agency for Science & Technology Advancement (SAASTA)

Email: lorenzo@saasta.ac.za
Tel: +27 12 3929319
Cell: +27 72 6468482