Victorious AUK Students Will Compete in a Nationwide Debate Tournament on behalf of Duhok

The Kurdistan Region – Iraq Universities Debate Championship (KRIUDC), organized by The International Academy for Leadership & Development (IALD) and The Rwanga Foundation on July 9 and 10, saw American University of Kurdistan (AUK) students take home the top honor. By virtue of their victory, AUK’s students will compete on behalf of the Duhok Governorate in an October national debate in Iraq.

The competition was between teams from the AUK, University of Duhok (UoD), University of Zakho (UoZ), Polytechnic University of Duhok, and Nawroz University who also served as the event host. Each University team was made of 4 students who debated in the Arabic Language on several topics. Although, all students were informed about the topics, they were not told whether they would be debating for the pro or contra side in each round and had to be well-prepared for both arguments.

AUK students Dalal Basharm, Zahraa Mohammed, Maeam Riadth, and Aesha Taha lost against their opponents from The Polytechnic University in the first round of the competition on the topic of electronic books vs. physical books. “Though accepting a loss is hard, it might sometimes be beneficial to lose so that you can bounce back stronger”, stated AUK student Dalal.

That exactly happened when they debated “Whether major Companies should be Forced to Participate in the Process of Expanding Forestation” in the second round against Nawroz University, where they were able to enjoy a fantastic comeback.

Our students were able to compete against their Zakho counterparts on the second day thanks to this victory and the overall excellent marks the AUK team obtained from the expert judges. Their discussion focused on whether academic programs that don’t fit the demands of the local labor market should be canceled or not.

Not only did the AUK students defeat their finals opponents to go to the regional round, where they will face the winning teams from universities from Erbil, Sulaimani, and Mosul in October 2023, but they also won the Best Speaker Prize for their fluency and public speaking abilities.

The victorious team there will represent the entirety of Iraq in the finals against other Arabic-speaking nations in Qatar early 2024.

Reactions to the triumph:

“By taking risks and overcoming fear, we broke the barrier of failure, and we finished first place”

Zahraa Mohammed

“The win we achieved today representing Dohuk was not the end goal, but rather the start of a greater victory”.

Maram Riadth

“I felt an unforgettable amount of happiness when I heard the head of judges announcing us as winners! It was an unforgettable experience.”

Aesha Taha

By bringing together a diverse group of students from various ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds to improve student life and student development, the AUK gives students the chance to get the most out of their academic experience while also reflecting the positive change that is occurring in Kurdistan. Students can pursue their interests and develop organizational skills in a variety of activity clubs, such as the debate club.