Feature

Workshop-Based Inter-YES Anti-Corruption Debate Competition 2008
Grooming Young Voices against Corruption...

Tabassum Mokhduma

NOBODY reading this piece needs an introduction to the term 'Corruption' and 'Debate'. Corruption is a complex set of process involving human behaviour and many other variables, some of which are difficult to recognize or measure. It is the misuse or abuse of public power for private gain and more importantly, it is corruption which played the ultimate role to push Bangladesh on the top of the list of the most corrupted countries for consecutive five years, from 2001 to 2005! While corruption can diminish a nation's image, debate, on the other hand can actually, prepare a nation to be a thought generating one by creating a sense of sensibility through sowing the seeds of articulating skills. And it is debate which can surely facilitate a nation, especially the younger generation to come up with solutions to combat the social ailment named corruption.

With this view in mind, with the slogan “The Invincible Youth Will Surely Resist Corruption” and with the goal of creating a group of strong, young vocal against corruption, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) organized the first ever Workshop-Based Inter-YES Anti-Corruption Debate Competition 2008 for the members of their volunteer groups Youth Engagement & Support (YES) at Proshika Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) Trust, Koitta, Manikganj on July 25-26, 2008. A total of 103 YES members from all the 36 YES groups throughout the country took part in the competition who works under the guidance of their respective Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCC), the TIB inspired civil society groups.

The event started after the lunch on July 25, Friday at 3:30 p.m. Dr. Syed Manzurul Islam, Professor, Department of English, University of Dhaka (DU) and Chief Moderator, Dhaka University Debating Society (DUDS) was present as the chief guest of the event. Among others, Shormindo Nilormi Dalia, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Jahangirnagar University (JU) and former debater; Shamim Al-Amin, Senior Reporter, Channel 1 and also a former debater were present at the programme.

The programme kicked off with the presentation of our national anthem performed by some YES members followed by speeches by the representatives of CCCs and YES groups. Dr. Mustafizur Rahman, Convener, CCC, Jessore and Mohsenatunnesa Masum, Convener, YES Sub-Committee, Pirojpur spoke on behalf of the CCCs while YES members Manjuda Akter Pinni from Mymensingh and Ibne Azam Sabbir from Chandpur spoke on behalf of the YES members. They all mentioned that debate is a tool which can help a person to think rationally, differentiate between good and bad and thus prepare oneself to protest against social injustices and stigmas to come up with innovative ideas to make an ideal society. They also thanked TIB for taking up such a brilliant initiative which is a demand of time.

After their speeches, senior staffs from TIB thanked all the guests, participants and others who constantly supported TIB and their anti-corruption initiatives to make a better, breathable, corruption-free Bangladesh. Professor Dr. Syed Manzurul Islam then officially inaugurated the event. In his speech he mentioned, “Among different types of corruption, the one which literally paralyzed Bangladesh is the corruption of intellect. To come out of it, there is no other option than getting rid of the corruption of intellect. And to do so, debate can play the decisive role by generating rational thinking in the mind”. He further added that it is debate which prepares a person.

After the formal inauguration, the workshop got started. It included some fruitful sessions where the participants were given tips on better pronunciation and speaking styles, ways to win debate, rules and guidelines of freestyle debate, speaking against corruption, the problems of Bangladesh National Parliament and ways to overcome those problems, rules and guidelines of parliamentary style debate etc.

Associate Professor Shormindo Nirlomi Dalia of Department of Economics, JU described different ways to overcome the common problem of mixing up local accent with that of the standard Bangla. She emphasized on the necessity to pronounce each and every words clearly and accurately especially in debate.

After the completion of her session, Dr. Syed Manzurul Islam illustrated different techniques on how to win debate where he pointed out the necessity to know about the topic of the debate, importance of time management, language, style, manners, matters, confidence etc.

Journalist Shamim Al-Amin then depicted different rules and methods of freestyle debate. He turned the session into an interesting one by analyzing different freestyle debate topics in unique possible ways where he also advised the participants to think creatively on different topics, realize the importance of aestheticism in debate, ways to dig deep into the topic etc.

As the competition included both freestyle and parliamentary format debate, it was necessary for the participants to know about the states of our National Parliament, the problems because of which it failed to ensure democratic practice in this country in its true sense, ways to overcome the crisis regarding our parliament etc. Here, the organizer showed their genuine intelligence by including an informative session conducted by one of their research officer where he disclosed different findings regarding our parliament, its problems, the reasons behind its ineffectiveness, modes to surmount the difficulties etc.

After the tea break, the last session of the workshop was held where the participants learned about raising voices against corruption, why fighting corruption is important followed by a special session where the participants wrote about their expectations from the anti-corruption debates, what they want to achieve from the Inter-YES Anti-Corruption Debate Competition etc. which were disclosed on the following evening after the final debate. After dinner, the day one finally came to an end with a cultural function which included the show of well documented film like “Stop Genocide” and “Muktir Gaan”.

The second and the final day of the event started the next day, July 26 at 9:00 a.m. with the freestyle debate competition. The participants were divided into two groups for freestyle debate competition. The topic of the 'Ka' group was “Shongshod Nirbachoney Protiddondita Kortey Amar Onnotomo Joggota Hobe..” where Tanmoy Chowdhury of Patiya emerged as best debater while the topic for the 'Kha' group was “Bangladeshey Durnitirodhey Jatiyo Shongshoder Prodhan Bhumika Hobe..” where Mridul Kanti Halder of Barisal became the best debater. The top 10 debaters from each group competed in the last debate of the competition which followed the Bangladeshi Parliament that began after lunch.

After the lunch break, a short question answer session was held where the participants came to know about different rules and regulations regarding parliamentary style debate which needed special attention as the organizers wanted to spread the true essence of the parliament in the competition. The debate finally kicked off at around 3:30 p.m. with 11 debaters on the government side and the rest 9 on the opposition side. Chaired by Dr. A. S. M. Atikur Rahman, Professor, Department of Social Welfare, DU and Moderator, DUDS and judged by Murad Hossain Khan Partho, Senior Lecturer, Northern University; Arif Hossain Khan, Programme Manager, Manusher Jonno Foundation; Tahsina Yasmin, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Stamford University; Mohammad Newaz Khalid Ahmed Toru, Assistant Vice-President, City Bank Limited and Ajay Das Gupta, Assistant Editor, The Daily Shomokal where the topic of this debate was “Shushashon Protishtha O Durniti Rodher Prodhan Daayitto Jatiyo Shongshod O Er Shodoshshoder” which was an affair to watch. The way the debaters raised their points and counterpoints for and against the proposition were really incredible. How almost two and a half hours passed by in a thought provoking debate nobody knew.

After the heated war of words, finally the moment to announce the results arrived. Md. Ashaduzzaman Ranga of Rajshahi emerged as champion in the parliamentary style debate while Tanmoy Chowdhury of Patiya and Zobayed Al-Mamun Hasan of Rajshahi became first and second runner-up respectively.

The closing ceremony was attended by Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director, TIB while M. Hafiz Uddin Khan, Former Adviser of Caretaker Government of Bangladesh and Treasurer, Trustee Board, TIB was present as the Chief Guest. Both of them congratulated the participants and encouraged them to go further to accomplish the aim of establishing a corruption-free society. They believed that the experience of this event will certainly help the volunteers to advocate against corruption. Later, the distinguished guests distributed the certificates and awards among the winners. The day came into an end with photo sessions and cultural functions where the participants performed jokes, songs, dance etc. to make the event a memorable one.

This event surely left a long lasting impression on the young participants who are tirelessly volunteering against corruption. The participants believes that this distinctive initiative will surely be taken up on a regular basis to sharpen their communicative and advocacy skills by building a strong confidence level with the help of which they can groom themselves as a strong vocal against corruption.

(The writer is a YES member, CCC, Chittagong Metropolitan, TIB)