The Great Debaters
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About Us

Introduction

The Great Debaters Contest is a debate show that drives conversations about factors affecting the young people. It provides a forum for them to intellectually tackle matters of national, continental and global importance with the hope that they can contribute to the making of policies that shape our society and change the world views of young viewers and listeners.

Background

The Great Debaters Contest was launched in September 2010 the dusty grounds of Olympic High School. It has since grown from 4 schools to 14 schools in 2011, over 32 schools participating in 2012, over 60 schools in 2013, well over 130 schools in 2014 over 300 schools participating in 2015 and over 700 coming on board in 2016.

Milestone

In October 2012 the Great Debaters Contest started airing on Citizen TV as a weekly show every Saturday morning. In 2014 the demand from the public to have the platform move all over the country saw an increase in the number participants hence the number of episodes, this saw the television show move from a single weekly episode to daily episodes on KBC from Monday to Friday at 6.20 pm

Our Goal

i. To develop knowledge as well as research, listening and communication skills.
ii. To promote common understanding among the youth, cutting across all divisive lines.
iii. To inculcate the virtues of respect and teamwork among the youth.
iv. To boost confidence and self-esteem and expose young people to greater opportunities.
v. To contribute to policies affecting the youth and society at large.

The Target Group

GDC targets young people in high school and pre-university, between the ages of 14-24 years. According to the 2010 Kenya National Population and Housing Census Report, there are an estimated 5 million high

Monitoring and Evaluation

The M&E tools to used include:
a. Weekly and quarterly reports on ground activities
b. Weekly and quarterly reports on social media analysis
c. Submission of all sponsor broadcasting materials such as promos and sponsor boards

What We AIm To Achieve

In 2015, the United Nations department for Economic and Social Affairs estimated that there were 226 million youth aged 15-24 living in Africa, accounting for 19 per cent of the global youth population. By 2030, it is projected that the number of youth in Africa will have increased by 42 per cent.

Mahatma Gandhi says, “We must be the change that we want to see in the world.” He believed that if we change how we think then we would change how we feel and what actions we take and so the world around us would change. The Great Debaters Contest aims to change the African narrative from the “dark continent” to one of prosperity and unimaginable growth through rewriting the African story by enlightening young minds.

Leadership
Governance
Technology
Climate Change
Widlife Conservation

Club activities

•Thematic workshops across the year at regional level to increase the knowledge base of the students
•Regional heats
•National heats – The Nationals were held at Strathmore University, Nairobi in 2015. This level brings together the winning schools from every region. This level involves eliminations at the quarter and semi-finals to qualify for the Grand Finale.
•Grand Finale
The grand finale involves a final debate to determine the winner. This is followed by the awarding and celebrating of the winning teams, teachers and schools.