University English debate kicks off

University English debate kicks off

JAKARTA (JP): Thirty-six teams from 22 universities will take
part in a nationwide English debate competition, the second of
its kind here.

The three-day event starting on Friday is called the
Indonesian Varsities English Debate 1999 and is being organized
by the Atma Jaya University on Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta.

"The preliminary rounds of the competition will be held at the
Atma Jaya University campus, while the final round and the
closing ceremony will be at the Ministry of Education and
Culture," the event's project officer, Carmelita Cajuman, said on
Thursday.

The university's rector, Thomas Suyatno, is scheduled to open
the competition.

Carmelita said the committee extended the scope of this year's
event, sending invitations to universities outside the capital
and from other provinces to participate in the annual event.

She said some universities decided to skip this year's
competition due to clashes in their respective provinces.

"Acehnese students wrote that they could not join the
competition, while their counterparts in East Timor have not
responded to our invitation," the competition's technical
committee officer, Avi Nababan, said.

Similar to the first competition, hosted by the University of
Indonesia's English Debating Society last year, this year's
debate will use the same Australian parliamentary debate format.

Each debate will have two opposing teams and each team will
have three members. Team members will be given seven minutes each
to deliver their opinions. (emf)