School debates 'inspire future generations to conserve environment'

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 GREEN SCHOOLS INITIATIVE 
CLIMATE CHANGE REGIONAL DEBATE QUALIFIERS
TESO AND NORTHERN REGIONS
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From creating a climate city to lifting patents on eco-friendly technologies and financing environmentally sensitive development projects, the young debaters poured their hearts out as they tackled different motions related to climate change.

Proposers on one end and opposers on the other, the students' youthful enthusiasm showed as they traded arguments and counterarguments.

Eventually, what started had off on the day as nine debating schools got whittled down to two — and then one: the regional champions.

The wild celebrations from the Soroti Secondary School camp inside a packed hall provided the perfect climax of a thrilling climate change regional debate qualifiers at Teso College Aloet in Soroti city on Wednesday.

For a second successive year, Soroti Secondary School (pictured below) came out on top as the Teso region champions — and with that, they secured their place in the national championship due in Kampala this August.

The debating competition, which is one of the activities of the Green Schools Initiative, also saw losing finalists and hosts Teso College Aloet and third-placed St Elizabeth Girls Secondary School (pictured below) qualify for the nationals.

Wednesday marked the second leg of the regional qualifiers that kicked off on Monday this week.

Each leg sees two regions concurrently produce the respective top three schools that advance to the national championship.

Comboni College emerged the champions of the Northern region after defeating Lango College in the final at Lira Town College in Lira city on Wednesday.

Y.Y Okot Memorial Secondary School finished third and they, too, will be part of the nationals.

Coming into the second leg of the regional qualifiers, six schools — including two champions — had already made it through. 

Lolachat Seed Secondary School beat Abim Secondary School to the Karamoja regional debate title, with Napak Secondary School taking third place.

In West Nile, Arua Public Secondary School defeated hosts Mvara Secondary School to emerge the regional champions while Bishop Angelo Talantino Ediofe finished third.

Four regions down, six to go. Next stop: Bugisu and Midwestern regions.

'Great leaders'

So far, the quality and energy of debating has impressed.

For instance, when Soroti assistant resident city commissioner (RCC) Musa Oroma watched the final showdown between hosts Teso College and reigning champions Soroti Secondary School, he said he saw leaders in all the debaters.

And his desire is that all the participants "become great leaders of Uganda" one day.

Representing the RCC as the chief guest, Oroma said the subject of climate change fits aptly in the government's socio-economic transformation principle of service delivery and urged all young people to become innovative and creative.

"I want to implore students who have come here to debate that when you get back home, try to come up with ventures that can make you sustain a living even your parents are not there."

The assistant RCC (pictured below) rallied students to also involve themselves in the presidential skilling initiatives during their holiday or vacation.

'On the right path'

The Green Schools Initiative was launched in 2023 to sensitize the public on climate change mitigation and adaptation using the school system as the entry point.

Funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Uganda, multimedia company Vision Group is implementing the project in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-Uganda).

Debate on climate change issues is one of the activities of the initiative.

Speaking on Wednesday at the conclusion of the Teso regional debate competition, Soroti city environment officer Francis Ediau said school debates encourage future generations to conserve the environment.

Commending Vision Group and partners, he said "we are on the right path because we are using the right people [children] who will in the future be in charge of the course of environmental management".

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Ediau was keen to underline that greening often may start with planting trees, but "we must go an extra mile" by also addressing issues of waste management.

Talking about energy conservation is also important, Ediau (pictured below) added, also further recommeding that climate change debates should not end in schools but also be taken to the communities.

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'Creativity key'

This second edition of the climate change comptition is themed around innovations that work.

Earlier on Wednesday, Teso College deputy headteacher Charles David Omona spoke of how "our boys have become more innovative and creative" as a result of the Green Schools Initiative.

"That water tank that you see there, the boys participated in making it what it is today. That is a product created out of waste (plastic bottles).

"These boys have been involved in planting trees, in raising seedlings, among other things," said Omona.

"I want to encourage this initiative and the partners not to bring this programme to an end in the nearby future.

"Young children like these need programmes that can inspire them. Sometimes, schools are too busy to initiate some of these programmes because of the demanding nature of the curriculum.

"So such external interventions supplement our curriculum and make it more innovative, more involving and make these children to think more about how best they can improve their environments.

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"We have also noted that many people have picked interest in what these young children are doing. We hosted very many workshops last term in this school and one of the things that attracted the attention of those participants is this project.

"The second one is planting of trees.

"The third one was how these boys were sorting out litter, picking the plastic bottles and keeping them for future use. But where did this all come from?

"It is from the Green Schools Initiative that children are being encouraged to conserve their environment," said Omona.

According to the deputy school head, for future generations to be meaningful in society, they must learn how to be innovative.

And it should start today.

"We must equip them with innovative skills so that they can utilize the available materials within their villages to initiate projects that can teach their families and support the environment.

"One of the things that our boys are doing here is that they have demonstration plots for vegetables. That [Green Schools] initiative has helped some of them to start up projects at home.

"There is one particular boy who has planted some trees. He also has about an acre of sugarcane plantation and he is also keeping some birds. Some of those ideas came from the Green Schools Initiative.

"We want to thank you very much for inspiring these young people."

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Omona was also alive to the fact that Uganda is grappling with a myriad of environment-related challenges.

"There is a lot of destruction of our environment. It is not by any other natural happenings but it is by us the users of this environment.

"How best can we harness this environment to continuously help us as we develop? 

"Those solutions are going to come from these debates that you continously have."

'Feels great winning'

In the coming days, more schools will continue to make the cut for the national debate championship, and for those that have already qualified, the excitement is palpable.

"This has been our dream always. It feels great winning," said Racheal Alobo, who was part of the six-member winning team of Soroti Secondary School.

"I have been debating for seven years now. In the tournaments that I have always debated in, I only lost once — in 2020.

"I dedicate this victory to our patron, Mr Alex Emdong, and the Debating Club of Soroti Secondary School because it [the club] has engaged us both at home [online] and at school."

'So excited'

Closely watching Alobo and co battle their way to yet another regional title was their teacher of Literature, Diana Nansubuga (pictured below, left), who was equally elated over her school's triumph.

"I am so excited that we emerged the champions of Teso," she said after the contest.

"The debate was so tight but we managed to emerge as the best. 

"I thank God and also my students because they worked so hard. We equally thank our headteacher, Wilfred Okeriau Oluka. He is the best because he is the one who always accepted us to take part in these debates."

What about the school's chances at the upcoming nationals?

"We are confident that we shall win the championship. We believe we are going to win. We are always the heads, not the tails," said Nansubuga.

Collins Engoru and Doreen Anuo, both from Soroti Secondary School, were the best male and female debaters in the Teso qualifiers.

Lango College's Odong Nathaniel and Among Genevieve from Y.Y Okot Memorial SS were named the best male and female debaters in the Northern qualifiers.