Human Rights Month school debates that were held yesterday, 16 February, at the Bayworld Museum did not dissappoint. Debates lived up to the expectation as pupils from different schools across the City engaged in frank, honest and robust debates on issues in racism, human rights and social cohesion.
The schools debates were organised as part of the Human Rights Moths programme by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Department of Arts and Culture, Uitenhage Massacre Foundation and other relevant stakeholders. They follow a 30 kilometer run that was held last week (March 5, 2016) at Rosedale Stadium, where more than a thousand athletes participated.
The Municipality decided to focus the debates on pupils with the aim of encouraging debate and discussions among pupils and youth on issues of Human Rights and national importance. It was also to create an environment where the pupils can share their knowledge of understanding about the journey the county has traveled to preserve and fight against human rights violations. Members of the Mayoral Committee Joy Seal represented that municipality the event.
Commenting after the debates she said: “I am very excited to see young people of this country participating in a debate with so much enthusiasm and confidence. It is very important to have these debates in order to educate and inform the students about what happened during the time of struggle. I strongly believe that the future is bright. These are our future leaders. If they can debate issues as sensitive as racism and apartheid so freely with such knowledge, it clearly indicates that the country’s future is bright”.
The debates were done in a form of a competition between the six schools that were present, where the number was cut into two schools that competed for the number one spot. The winning school, Khwezi Lomso High School won their school a state of the art printer machine.
The overall winners of the debate were:
- Khwezi Lomso High School
- Cowan High School
- Kwa-Zakhele High School
The overall winner walked away with prizes for their schools, which included a multi-function photo copier and printer for their school. Students walked away with a greater understanding of the country’s history, importance of human rights and social cohesion.
NMB Communications
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