KIU, Western Campus – Members of the KIU Western Campus Debate Union are set to participate in the Uganda Universities’ Debate Presidents Council public speaking contest on COVID-19.

The competition, sponsored by Global Platforms of Action Aid, is aimed at enabling students to indulge in something more applicable and related to people’s everyday lives.

The Chairperson of the Uganda Universities Debate Presidents Council, Joseph Tahinduka said the council is gathering all its efforts through various avenues like public speaking, to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID-19 has affected everything; food science and food security, the legal framework, journalism trends, the socio-cultural setup, sport and entertainment, politics, the economy and even the healthcare systems,” Tahinduka noted.

“So, we are doing this (Public speech) because once we are empowered with information, we can start campaigns to mitigate the effects of the pandemic,” he added.

Patrick Asaba, the President of Timeless Mission, the KIU Western Campus forum coordinating presentation for the contest said they are holding a preliminary competition to choose a representative for the campus.

“Right now, people have already started organizing their speeches, and we shall choose the best speech to represent us,” Asaba said.

The speeches, which can be about any theme about COVID-19, will be presented in the form of audio files, which will be sent online to the council for assessment. Judges from the Uganda Dialogue Arena will then choose the best five speeches, which will be awarded. Deadline for submission of speeches is 15th April.

Asaba was confident that KIU will win the competition based on its track record in such contests.

“We are confident we will walk away with the overall prize,” he said.