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CHENNAI: Five students from recognized schools in Chennai will represent India for the first time ever in the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) to be held in Washington DC, USA from September 5 – 15, 2008. Started as a unique training session by Ramco Systems, the selected students for the first time will make India proud and stand up on the debating stage. 39 countries will be participating in the internationally acclaimed 2008 WSDC.
S. Pranav Kumar (Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Sr. Sec. School, K.K. Nagar, Std. IX), Sithara Rasheed (Sri Sankara Sr. Sec. School, Adyar, Std. XI), Rajalakshmi Natarajan (Sri Sankara Sr. Sec. School, Adyar, Std. XI), Shreya Murali (Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Sr. Sec. School, Nungambakkam, Std. IX) and Amrithavarshini (Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Sr. Sec. School, Nungambakkam, Std. IX) will represent the Indian team. India’s first debate will be against Slovakia, followed by Bermuda, Pakistan, Australia, Mexico, Japan, USA and South Korea.
Coached by Andrew Fitch, a renowned debater from the English Speaking Union, UK and managed by Ms. Padmini, Principal – Arsha Vidya Mandir the five students have had series of training modules preparing them for the championship. Ramco Systems will sponsor the entire visit of the students and coaches.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. P.R. Venketrama Raja Vice Chairman, Managing Director & CEO, Ramco Systems said, “Events like these provide students an excellent opportunity to go international and interact with the best coaches and students from other prestigious schools. Ramco Systems is proud to sponsor this historic event for the first time in India which is aimed to give a wonderful platform for students to debate. Structured Debating helps our children to think logically and put forward their point of view with grace and elegance. Our children are our future and we need to put in our efforts for our country’s better tomorrow”.
Coach Andrew Fitch, English Speaking Union added, “Its going to be a real challenge for the team but our team is all geared up and I think the sky is the limit for them.”
39 teams have registered for the 2008 WSDC in Washington DC. Few of the participating countries are Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, United States, Zimbabwe etc.
Events like these provide students an excellent opportunity to go international and interact with the best coaches and students from other prestigious schools. Ramco Systems is proud to sponsor this historic event for the first time in India which is aimed to give a wonderful platform for students to debate.
World Schools Debating Workshop
From June 13 – 18, 2008, Ramco Systems organized the Chennai Schools Debating workshop, in conjunction with the English-Speaking Union an international education charity based in London, for some of Chennai’s most prestigious schools. (Arsha Vidya Mandir, Bala Vidya Mandir, PS Senior Secondary School, Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, Sr. Sec School – KK Nagar & Nugambakkam, Shree Sankara Sr. Sec School.) The workshop was held to teach students the skills in debating, argument and rhetoric. It also introduced students to the World Schools Debating format, which provides a formalized structure for debates between two teams of three speakers each. The workshop had been led by coaches from the UK who had come to Chennai on behalf of the English-Speaking Union: Patrick Emerson, Alex Worsnip and Eve Hibbert-Keene all of whom have extensive experience of debating as competitors, adjudicators and coaches.
A range of debating sessions from reasoning and evidence to listening and response, expression & delivery was conducted. Topics such as International Relations and rights were covered in the workshop. The workshop culminated into a mini competition, resulting in the selection of the five students who would enter the World Schools Debating Championships to be held at Washington.
About the World Schools Debating Workshop
The World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) is a truly global competition for high school debaters. The Championships take place each year in a different country, hosted by a national debating body. Recent venues include Sydney, London, Johannesburg, Singapore, Lima and in 2006 Cardiff, Wales. All Debates take place in English. Each country can submit a squad of 3-5 students under 19 in full time education in that country to debate social, moral and political issues. Post patrons of the championships include Tony Blair and Nelson Mandela. The aims of the World Schools Debating Champions are to achieve excellence in debating, to encourage debating throughout the world, to promote international understanding and free speech.
For more information: please visit www.schoolsdebate.com
About Ramco Systems
Ramco Systems, part of the USD 800+ million Ramco Group, has delivered enterprise software and services since 1989. Today, Ramco is a global provider serving over 100,000 users with more than 1,800 employees operating out of 18 offices in 9 countries. Ramco Systems develops cost effective, flexible and innovative enterprise applications that can be deployed fast. It helps businesses respond to change swiftly. The company provides solutions to multiple verticals including banking, insurance, manufacturing, supply chain, aviation, transportation and logistics, healthcare, governance, retail and more. Ramco’s collaborative solution innovation platform – Ramco VirtualWorks ensures that when your business changes, your system changes too. Ramco Systems has been certified for ISO 9001:2000 quality standards, ISO 27001 security standards and assessed at SEI CMMi – SW Level 5.
For more information, please visit www.ramco.com
Originally published in Andhra News