|
2009
Invitation to bid: SAASTA National School Debates Project
SAASTA wishes to appoint a service provider to manage and run the SAASTA National School Debates project for a period of thirty six months.
Prospective Bidders are requested to attend a compulsory briefing session to be held on 26 October 2009.
Download:
The deadline for submitting proposals is 9 November 2009 at 11h00.
2008
The South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) this year launched the National Schools Debate competition in conjunction with the South African School Debating Board. Now in its provincial stages of implementation, the competition aims to present scientific information to the youth of South Africa in a manner that will stimulate them intellectually and encourage them to engage each other on science-related issues.
“This project is a contribution to SAASTA's responsibility of ensuring that science becomes part of our everyday dialogue. By exposing these young people to scientific information, we are empowering them with information that will enable them to make informed decision on science issues,” says Beverley Damonse, Executive Director of SAASTA.
All debating is done using the Karl Popper-style debating which is designed to focus on the creation of logical arguments and philosophical perspectives to win a debate. This style relies on the ability of a team to develop arguments and use information that will either support or oppose a resolution.
In the first phase of the competition which took part in May 2008, SAASTA invited schools in all nine provinces to enter and participate in the competition. All participating schools were sent information packs that were compiled using an in-house scientific editorial processing system that ensures credible and reliable information. The information packs served as a primary source of information on the debate themes.
“Our scientific editorial processing is done so that the participating schools, and another other consumer of the information can be confident that the information distributed is responsible, reliable and accurate,” adds Damonse.
In the second phase of the competition, schools ran intra-school debate activities wherein schools identified a team of three to represent the school in the provincial tournament to be held during the third phase of the competition. This phase also involved teachers at participating schools being trained in the Karl Popper style debate so that they can act as adjudicators in the tournaments.
The project is now in its third phase with provincial tournaments structured around biotechnology themes such as bio fuels, stem cell research or cloning and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) as resolutions. The winners in this round will compete on a national basis with schools from other provinces. Provinces that have yet to hold their provincial tournaments are Mpumalanga , Northern Cape and KwaZulu Natal.
The winners of the provincial tournaments will represent their province in the national tournament which will be held in Gauteng from 27 to 30 September 2008. The theme for the national tournament will be based on activities of the International Year of Plant Earth (IYPE) as resolutions.
“Our vision for the schools debate project is that it demystifies science and empowers the young people of South Africa with skills that will also enable them to take part in debates and dialogues around these issues on a much bigger scale,” says Damonse.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eastern Cape learners take top honours in national debates tournament
1 October 2008
At a glittering awards function in Pretoria last night, three learners from the Eastern Cape beat stiff competition to win the finals of the national debates tournament.
Over the weekend the top debating teams from North West Province, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal faced each other in an eloquent battle of wits. In the final round the members of the Eastern Cape team, Andrew de Blocq, Anade Situma, and Ndzwayiba Makabongwe trumped worthy opponents Rebone Matabane, Sizwe Moagi, and Kgwerano Mpamonyane of the Limpopo team.
Andrew de Blocq of St Andrews College in Grahamstown also received the prize for the best overall speaker.
The national debates tournament, an initiative of the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) in partnership with the South African Schools Debating Board (SASDB) gives learners an opportunity to develop and fine-tune their skills in scientific research, critical thinking and information literacy, as well as their ability to work as a team to present logical, clear arguments.
The 26 learners comprising the regional teams debated five broad, societally relevant and multidisciplinary themes around the International Year of Planet Earth initiative -, megacities, Earth observation, Earth conservation, water, and non-renewable resources. .
In his address Prof Maartin de Wit of the South African National Committee for International Year of Planet Earth described the high standard of the debates and the deep insight into environmental issues demonstrated by the participants as a definite highlight and a fitting finale for the South African IYPE initiative, which officially ended last night.
The deputy minister of science and technology, Derek Hanekom, in his keynote address highlighted the insight and understanding the young learners displayed into issues of environmental concern and the fact that poverty marches along with problems such as pollution of natural resources such as water.
“It is up to us and future generations to find smart ways and smart actions to solve these problems,” he told the audience. “Our challenge is to find the right formula to offer all the people of the world a decent, sustainable lifestyle. It is therefore imperative that we understand life systems so that we know how to protect our natural resources.”
He agreed with the winning team that we are facing a grim and frightening reality with global warming and the depletion of our natural resources, but also pointed out it is not all doom and gloom.
“My department is supporting several initiatives to enable us to understand the science of what is happening, interpret the facts, debate the issues and come up with solutions,” he said, adding that it was vital to develop analytical skills to find the best course of action into the future.
“This is precisely where the value of initiatives such as the national debates tournament lies,” he said. He praised SAASTA and its partners for instilling a culture of healthy debate and respect for other people and their views in the participants, and paid special tribute to the educators who spent many hours encouraging the learners and assisting them in their preparations.
Beverley Damonse, executive director of SAASTA, admitted that she was bowled over by the brilliance of the speakers and their self-possession and confidence. “It takes some doing to speak in front of an audience, especially one that includes a deputy minister and several professors,” she said.
Participation in the regional and national debates tournaments brought several other perks for the learners. As part of the educational activities surrounding the national debates, for example, learners attended a “Climate Champs” course sponsored and presented by the British Council to prepare them to become fluent and effective ambassadors for the environment.
The best speakers of each of the participating provinces will have the opportunity to visit the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) in Sutherland, where they will be taken on a tour of the facility.
For more information, please visit www.debate.org.za, www.saasta.ac.za and www.pub.ac.za.
NOTE FOR EDITORS
The South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) aims to advance public awareness, appreciation and engagement of science, engineering and technology in South Africa. SAASTA is a business unit for the National Research Foundation (NRF).
CONTACTS FOR SAASTA SCHOOLS DEBATING TOURNAMENT
Lorenzo Raynard
Manager: Science Communication
South African Agency for Science & Technology Advancement (SAASTA)
Email: lorenzo@saasta.ac.za
Tel: +27 12 3929319
Cell: +27 72 6468482
|
