FNU wins national Debate competition

Fiji National University (FNU) has set a record by winning the Inter-University Debate Competition on Climate Change, organised by the Dialogue Fiji and funded by the European Union.

The FNU team recently won all its matches against the University of the South Pacific and the University of Fiji during the competition that was held at the College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Lecture Theatre at the Nasinu Campus.

In the first match, the side put together some brilliant arguments from Isabella Raidriwa, Ravneel Singh, and Fatima Ahmed. The FNU team debated on the topic whether Fiji should prioritise the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems over its economic growth.

In the second round, FNU defeated the University of Fiji, as the side was on the negative side and arguments were on the topic of whether Fiji should prioritise international collaboration over domestic self-reliance as the primary approach to mitigate the impacts of rising sea levels and ensure the wellbeing of its coastal communities.

“We are over the moon to have won the debate at our university, and it means a lot to us as we represented FNU with pride and passion,” Ahmed said.

“USP was a very tough opponent. However, we were up for it, and we did maintain our focus on putting our arguments across to the judges and the general audience.”

Singh said teamwork was the secret behind the team’s success.

“We have been together for some time now as we represented CMNHS in the FNU debate competitions earlier this year, and this was the strength behind the team’s win. We knew how each other would put the argument and how to rebuttal, which enabled us to be the national winners,” he said.

Raidriwa acknowledged all the support from the FNU staff and students in their journey to win.

“In terms of our preparation, we have been preparing for the past couple of weeks for this debate competition, and I am glad we brought success to FNU, and we have set the benchmark,” Raidriwa said.

FNU Acting Registrar Shalmendra Chand, who has been working with the students on the debate preparation, said the team has made the University proud.

“We have been supporting students and preparing them for almost a year now, and I am extremely happy with the way the students have come out from their comfort zone to the stage and won debates internally, and this helped them to face the other universities in Fiji.”

“The win is the fruit of all the hard work and sleepless nights spent by them preparing and researching their topics.”

The FNU quiz team also won the inaugural Youth Leadership Contest by the India-Fiji Friendship Forum last year.

*FNU NIKUA LIFTOUT Issue No.9 September 2023*