On behalf of the President of the University of Jordan, the Vice President for Administrative and Financial Affairs, Dr. Ziad Al-Hawamdeh, sponsored the closing ceremony of the Student Debate Competition in its second session for the academic year 2024, in the presence of the Dean of Student Affairs at the University, Dr. Safwan Al-Shiyab, the Dean of the School of Law, Dr. Basem Melhem, the CEO of the Jordan Debate Foundation, Eng. Lujain Al-Syouri, and the Director of the Department of Cultural and Party Activities, Mr. Omar Obeidat. During the ceremony, the results of the debates were announced for the three winning teams. The School of Law team won first place, followed by the School of Engineering team, which was in the final rounds with the School of Law team, while the King Abdullah II School of Information Technology team won second place. During his speech, Al-Hawamdeh said that the University of Jordan always embraces creativity and excellence, and he explained that in light of the celebrations of the University of Jordan for receiving the King Abdullah II Award for Distinguished University in a grand ceremony befitting this achievement that was written in letters of gold in the record of the university's successive achievements, with confident steps leaping towards glory, and in light of the directives of the Master of the Country, we always remember His Majesty's sayings that the youth are the knights of change and the elements of building advanced societies, and he explained that everyone here today is a winner, considering them the best of the best in the final competition qualifiers, and he explained that the goal of holding such activities and competitions is to refine the students' personalities and expand the scope of their knowledge; The role of the university is not limited to arming the student with knowledge only, but extends to bringing about a change in the behavior and skills of students through extracurricular activities that are programmed in an organized manner that aims to bring about a positive impact on human behavior in the surrounding urban environment. Al-Hawamdeh expressed his thanks to those in charge of this distinguished competition and the specialized jury. In his speech, Obeidat said, “I am honored to be with you on this special day at the closing ceremony of the University of Jordan Championship, which represented a broad intellectual space and an exceptional educational environment that opens the door to knowledge, experience, and the advancement of human thought to develop sound thinking and an open mind, and instill a sense of balance and self-confidence in an enjoyable and attractive manner with enthusiastic rounds in which issues were raised; to motivate students towards critical thinking and a greater understanding of the other opinion, and here the language of dialogue and logic rises in favor of truth and the future, and this is an embodiment of the University of Jordan's message and goals in refining the student; intellectually and skillfully, and unleashing his capabilities." He added, "Today, we crown an effort that extended over a season full of competition, preparation, and creativity. A season that began with training and preparation at the level of the mother university, and concluded with a wonderful championship in which the students presented an honorable model for the students of Jordan and our distinguished youth, and painted in our eyes a bright picture of the future. Today, we have reached the final station in the final of the University of Jordan Championship, with the School of Engineering and the School of Law reaching the final. This comes as an extension of the efforts of the Deanship of Student Affairs, the Jordan Debates Foundation, and the Student Union, and the convergence of everyone's goals around the necessity of providing students with important knowledge and skills in their professional and life paths." During her speech, Al-Syouri explained that this competition was launched for the first time in 2013 in cooperation with the Qatar Debate Center, and was launched this year at the beginning of the first semester of the 2024 academic year. It included all the university's Schools, within 20 teams representing the Schools, and extended for a period of 4 months during which the students underwent a group of courses on how to debate, formulate persuasive speeches, and included judges from the Ministry of Education and the Crown Prince Foundation. The competition aims to spread the art of debate among university students, in addition to training students in the skills of dialogue and critical thinking, formulating arguments, influence and persuasion, enhancing the status of the Arabic language, and enabling them to speak classical Arabic. It also aims to form qualified debate teams to represent the university in national and international forums. The competition included several topics; environmental, health, economic, social, and legal. At the end of the ceremony, Al-Hawamdeh honored the three winning teams in the competition, as well as the jury and evaluators of the competition. On another level, he honored the winning students in the field of best speakers in the various stages of the competition, and presented the competition shield to the Dean of the School of Law in the presence of the deans' deputies and heads of departments in the School. He also presented the honor to the Director of the Department of Cultural and Party Activities in the Deanship of Student Affairs and the President of the Student Union.
