Aburi Girls sweeps awards at maiden Inter-Schools Girls’ Debate Championship

The Aburi Girls’ Senior High School won all four trophies on offer at the just ended Inter-School Girls Debate Championship.

The two-day championship which was held at the University of Ghana’s Balme Library on 7th and 8th March was also part of activities to mark this year’s celebration of International Women’s Day on the theme “Breaking the barrier: Unexpected voices”.

The competition was put together by Seven Minutes for Girls Initiative, a women-focused group under the Speech Forces Organization.

The event saw girls from five schools; Aburi Girls’ Senior High school, DPS International School, Accra Girls’ Senior High School, Ghana Lebanon Islamic Secondary School, and Chemu Senior High School. The competition was held in the renowned British Parliamentary format of debating.

After three preliminary rounds, two teams from Aburi Girls faced off two teams from DPS in the grand finale on the motion, “This House prefers leaderless feminists movements”. In the end, Aburi Girls Team A, comprising Catherine Essel Otabil and Blessing Yedeli Asafo-Adjei, successfully opposed the motion and won the championship. Aburi Girls team B came in 2nd followed by DPS team B in 3rd place.

In her keynote address, Deputy CEO of the National Youth Authority, Mrs. Akosua Manu bemoaned society’s double standards when it comes to issues of gender. She commended the girls for stepping up to represent their schools on such a platform.

Mrs. Manu also encouraged the organizers and debate patrons to continue to nurture and provide platforms for girls to develop critical thinking and leadership skills. “Every girl should have the opportunity to build critical thinking and expressive skills”, she added.

Catherine Essel from Aburi Girls was adjudged the overall best speaker of the championship. In the public Speaking category, Euodia Appiah and Keisha Adjei Tawiah from Aburi Girls came in 1st and 2nd respectively. Dorinda Alhijah from DPS completed the top 3.

Speaking at the end, the Championship Convener and Team Lead of Seven Minutes for Girls, Ms. Jennifer Sarkodie expressed her gratitude on behalf of the organizing team to all the participating schools, volunteers, and individuals who supported the program.

She used the opportunity to also ask for more support in order to reach more girls and expand the championship in subsequent years.