Young influencers win Speaker’s Youth Debating Competition

The Speaker’s Young Debating Competition concluded on Tuesday with the Human Services and Social Security Ministry’s Young Influencers Programme team securing the coveted win.
Hosted at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), the final moot was “CARICOM’s biggest achievements are exemptions and excuses.”
Serving as the proposition team, the Young Influencers’ Corissa McClure, Saaya Prasad and Andrew King competed against reigning champions Golden Om Dharmic Youth Organisation’s Nareema Ali, Devekanand Nandkumar and Deyomini Ramlochan and ultimately emerged victorious.
“We were coming up against the defending champions and we were first-timers in this competition, so it was really scary for us. Before the competition, we were really anxious, but having won and having gained the title of the best debaters in Guyana is really fantastic,” said McClure, first speaker of the Young Influencers team.

“I am really thankful to the Honourable Speaker [of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir] for giving us this platform to engage with other like-minded youth and hone our debating abilities. We had to do a lot of research, thinking, anticipating; and overall, I really think it broadened our horizon and expanded our knowledge,” McClure said.
In the upcoming month, the Young Influencers team will advance their skills at Youth Parliament.
“We will shadow ministers at the Youth Parliament in the senior category, and that’s going to kick off on August 12. After that, hopefully, a member of our team can go to represent Guyana on the regional field,” McClure said.
McClure, who also secured the Best Speaker title, indicated her interest in pursuing politics and potentially becoming a Member of Parliament in the future.
The Speaker’s Youth Debating Competition is in fact aimed at increasing the youth population’s participation in community activities, their interest in careers of service to the nation, and their overall awareness of the Parliament as an institution.
Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr. commended the participants and noted that their educational journey does not end at this competition.
“What you’re learning here is not something that is not going to be valuable to you as you move forward in your life, and it should not stop here,” Ramson Jr. said.
“We’re going to open up to anyone, if you’re interested in an apprenticeship or mentorship, or even to volunteer with anything we’re doing. We’ll take down all your names, if you’re interested, and we’ll work around the kind of spacing that you can have at the [Culture, Youth and Sport] Ministry,” Ramson Jr. said.
He noted that following last year’s debating competitions, three participants started working within the Ministry.
The competition was launched in March as part of a series of activities to commemorate Parliament’s 70th anniversary. It saw the initial participation of some 50 youth groups across the country, with 16 groups advancing to compete at the National Youth Debating Competition until its final round on Tuesday.
Chief judges in the final round were former lecturer at University of Guyana (UG), Dr. Valarie Goorsammy-Smith; Distinguished Toastmaster from the Cacique Toastmaster Club, Delon Fraser; and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Communications Network (NCN), Neaz Subhan.
Awards were given to both the final teams and other participants who demonstrated key public speaking skills in the previous rounds.