John R. Park Debate Society Hosts 4th Annual U.S. Arabic Debating Championship 

The John R. Park Debate Society, in partnership with the Middle East Center and the Qatar Debate Center, hosted the 4th Annual U.S. Arabic Debating Championship on October 13-15, 2023. The event, in which debates occur in Arabic,  featured more than 200 participants from 42 institutions, with Duke University claiming top honors. The Society’s Director, Dr. Jeannie Hunt, helped facilitate the tournament while simultaneously coaching Society members competing in Oregon. 

"While our students don't compete in the Arabic language, we welcome any opportunity to increase debate as a tool for positive social change while providing a space for students from various cultures to connect and engage in meaningful discourse. Hosting this tournament was unique and enriching for the JRP Debate Society members and for the campus as a whole," Hunt commented. In addition to helping to host and facilitate, Hunt was invited to address participants at the awards assembly, speaking about the power of voice, specifically in non-debate spaces, to create change, and challenged participants to take the skills they learned in debate back to their campuses to ignite that change.

The U.S. Arabic Debating Championship was created to spread cultural awareness and provide room for dialogue in the Arabic language while increasing debate opportunities and skills for students. The University of Utah was one of the first institutions to partner with QatarDebate seven years ago, allowing the partnership to grow via hosting the debate on campus. 

For more information about the event including full results, please see https://www.qna.org.qa/en/News-Area/News/2023-10/17/0089-qatardebate-centre-concludes-4th-edition-of-us-universities-arabic-debating-championship. 

For additional information, please contact The John R. Park Debate Society (forensics@utah.edu) and visit the John R. Park Debate Society’s website at debate.utah.edu.