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Seventh season of Great Debaters’ Contest attracts 500 schools


The 7th season of the Great Debaters’ Contest has attracted over 500 schools from across Kenya with Blaze by Safaricom as the new title sponsor.

The popular teen’s show has also challenged high school students to adapt one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within their schools and communities.

The fun, thought-provoking programme, which is produced by Arimus Media Limited, aims to create a ripple effect in the implementation of the Global Goals by challenging the students to identify the goals they would achieve within their communities.

Arimus Media Limited Chief Executive Officer Julie Gichuru noted that challenging the students to walk the talk enables them inculcate a spirit of leadership and ambition as they strive to make a difference in their communities.

“The category would be rewarded separately from the formal debates, but gives an upper hand to the winning school to have a compelling project,” said Gichuru.

WINNERS’ PRIZES

The contest will see each student from the winning team walk away with the latest tablets, medals and assorted gift hampers with the team patron banking Sh250,000.

The top school will receive a lifetime subscription of DStv with access to all learning equipment and a fully equipped ICT chill out zone. The competition will also recognize and award top schools in the 13 regions with trophies and medals, while the top three Debate Club patrons will bag Sh50,000, Sh20,000 and Sh10,000 respectively.

On her part, Safaricom’s Director for Consumer Business Sylvia Mulinge emphasized the importance of raising awareness of the SDGs among the youth, noting that understanding and driving the achievement of the goals would result in a more equitable society.

“We believe that by driving the conversation on SDGs we can create a world that values equality and purpose before profit, and we can only do this if the younger generation also believes in these goals” said Ms Mulinge.

In 2016 Light Academy, Nairobi emerged tops in the contest followed by Nyeri High School and Mbooni Girls.

The Great Debaters’ Contest was launched in September 2010 at Olympic High School. It has since grown from four to 14 schools in 2011, to over 500 schools coming on board in 2017.