Palestine’s An-Najah University triumphs at debating championship

Doha, Qatar: The 7th International Universities Debating Championship concluded with a victory for An Najah National University from Palestine, markin...

Doha, Qatar: The 7th International Universities Debating Championship concluded with a victory for An-Najah National University from Palestine, marking their first win in the competition. The award was presented by Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation (QF), H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani during the closing ceremony of the championship held at the Qatar National Convention Centre yesterday.

The championship saw intense competition among universities worldwide, with the University of Arts and Sciences in Lebanon and Georgetown University in Qatar securing second and third places respectively. The event was graced by dignitaries including Minister of Education and Higher Education, H E Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi, and Palestinian Ambassador to Qatar, H E Mounir Ghannam.

H E Sheikha Hind honoured the tournament’s top speakers, including Moza Khaled Al Hajri from Georgetown University in Qatar, Abdullah Jassim Al Kubaisi from Qatar University, and Rawan Muhammad Harshi from the University of Arts and Sciences in Lebanon. Abeer Al Khalifa, President of Pre-University Education at Qatar Foundation, presented awards to the top ten speakers and recognised the University of Boğaziçi from Türkiye as the champions in the non-native Arabic speakers’ category.

Zaina Hurani, a member of the winning team from Palestine’s An-Najah National University, shared her team’s journey with The Peninsula: “This year was way more difficult for us than last year due to the situation in Palestine. Our team didn’t meet in person before coming here; everything was online. We didn’t know if we would make it to Qatar until the last minute. This win is not just our win; it’s a win for Palestine, more specifically for the Gazan people. We are very sad that we couldn’t meet with the team in Gaza this year.” 

Expressing her happiness, Heba Dhaini, who secured the 10th best speaker award and whose team from Lebanon won second place, told the newspaper: “We cannot describe our happiness. To reach this stage from our first participation is beyond amazing. We benefited a lot from this experience, learning about different cultures and perspectives.”