Netherlands team takes debating trophy

Students from the European country beat the team from Hong Kong in the finals

July 22, 2019 01:02 am | Updated 01:02 am IST - Chennai

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 21/07/2019: Indian Schools Debating Society organised a World Schools Style debate tournament on Sunday. and Netherlands emerged winners in ti. Photo: M. Vedhan/The Hindu

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 21/07/2019: Indian Schools Debating Society organised a World Schools Style debate tournament on Sunday. and Netherlands emerged winners in ti. Photo: M. Vedhan/The Hindu

People have to keep learning new skills, otherwise at some point, they may become unemployable, said Suresh Krishna, chairman, Sundram Fasteners Limited, on Sunday.

Speaking at the debating competition ‘Mini Worlds Chennai 2019’ organised by The Indian Schools Debating Society, he said, “The amount of knowledge given to the younger generation is phenomenal. It is crucial for them to keep learning new skills and if they don’t, they become unemployable.”

After a heated debate between the students of the Netherlands and Hong Kong on the topic “This house regrets the glorification of hardwork” in the finals of the competition, Netherlands walked with the trophy.

Fifteen teams of five members each, with students aged between 14 and 17, from 12 nations, participated in the debating competition.

Margaretha Elisabeth, 17, of the Netherlands team said, “We took the opposing stance and spoke about how [glorifying hardwork] is necessary for people who cannot make ends.” Other members of the Netherlands team included Rifka Roos, Lukas Joosten, Jonathan Kellogg and Elian Lavrijsen.

Top speakers

Bhavya Shah of Rao Junior College, Mumbai, who was in the Indian team, was visually impaired and was chosen as one of the top 10 speakers for the day.

He said, “It was an incredible experience to participate and it was quite engaging to hear the debates of other teams as well.”

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