Newsgathering Editor
chester.sambrano@guardian.co.tt
President Christine Kangaloo has lamented the lack of critical thinking and analysis on important national issues, which she blames for the spread of misinformation among the population.
This is why Her Excellency is championing the ‘Make Your Point’ debate competition organised by Guardian Media Limited and broadcast on CNC3.
In her feature address at the launch of Season Three of the competition at President’s House on Friday, President Kangaloo told participants that preparation for a debate nurtures critical skills—skills that help them to become more reflective, more analytical, and more respectful of views that stand in opposition to their own.
“Sadly, these are skills that are not always present in national discourse—I believe that these are skills that our adult population desperately needs to acquire. This is because we live in a society in which people tend to comment on critical issues without taking the time to find out the facts, or, when they do find them out, to analyse them fairly and objectively. Our society’s collective failure to do so often leads to the spread of misinformation and increased division.”
President Kangaloo reiterated that one of her main interests is the development and empowerment of the nation’s youth.
“I am therefore extremely pleased to be able to extend the patronage of the Office of the President to this competition, and I wish to express my appreciation to the organisers of this debate competition for allowing the Office of the President to participate in this endeavour.
“I cannot begin to tell you what a pleasure it is to be collaborating with members of the national community, who are all as passionate as I am about creating opportunities for youth engagement.”
She said that, as President, she often speaks about the importance of people coming together to use their platforms and resources to empower others, especially young people, and the ‘Make Your Point’ debate series embodies this empowerment perfectly.
“The previous two editions of the series were resounding successes; they provided a platform for our young people to shine and showcase their talents and skills and an opportunity for the nation to witness and to admire them as they did so.”
Similar sentiments were shared by Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, who was among the many distinguished guests to attend the launch. She said debating was at the heart of this country’s democracy.
“We all want a Trinidad and Tobago where our decision-making as a people is based on research, is based on dialogue and is based on factual understanding. We cannot but benefit from our young people having these types of experiences.”
These are the kinds of experiences referred to by the minister that created avenues for the development of the young people of this country.
Guardian Media Limited’s Managing Director (Ag) Gerhard Pettier explained that the young debaters were being allowed to create positive change.
“We already know the passion that runs deep through the veins of our Make Your Point contestants; it is now for us to give them the opportunity to make their point in such a way that can not only change Trinidad and Tobago, but our region and the world,” he said.
Now that the competition has reached its third season, former winners shared some knowledge and advice with the new contestants.
Winner of ‘Make Your Point’ Season One, Genesis Pereira, told participants to enjoy the experience, learn, and, of course, make friends from debating foes. “Your biggest competition here is yourself,” she added.
An almost identical message was delivered by the winner of Make Your Point Season Two, Jonah Boodrath. He said the most memorable takeaway for him derived from behind the scenes, “specifically, the sense of camaraderie and sportsmanship that was exhibited by the participating schools was most impactful and encouraging to me.”
At the launch, team captains also drew for topics and positions. The competition will last about two months and will see over 50 students go head-to-head in several debates on critical topics of national importance.