Montserrat will present its first debate on Friday evening in the 2017 Leeward Islands Debating Competition (LIDC). The Literary and Debating Society of the Nevis Sixth Form College, will host the event which is in its 45th year.
LIDC begins on Thursday February 23 to 26, nightly from 6:30 p.m. at the Nevis Performing Arts Centre.
The Montserrat team comprises: Juana Osborne, Sandrae Thomas, Carlisle Vyphuis Jr, Dauquan Chacquelle Wray, Dauquan Chacquelle Wray, Anisa Lindsay, and Guvinda Hemraj. The staff sponsor is Mrs Stephanie Darroux-Baron and coach Dr. Samuel Joseph.
The LIDC was founded in 1972 by Dr. George Irish and began with Montserrat, St. Kitts and Antigua. For the competition’s 2017 edition, seven islands will participate. They are St. Kitts, Montserrat, Antigua, Anguilla, St. Maarten and the British Virgin Islands and host island Nevis.
The debaters are expected to be on island by February 22, one day ahead of the contest. They are expected to attend a welcome cocktail hosted by Premier of Nevis and Minister of Education Hon. Amory.
On the first night will be Debate 1 between St. Kitts and St. Maarten. The topic will be “The high cost of youth unemployment relief programmes outweighs the benefits”.
Debate 2 between Nevis and Montserrat will take place on the second day. The topic will be “The global rise in anti-immigration sentiments is justified”.
Also on the second night, Debate number 3 takes place with the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla. The topic will be “Caribbean Educational practices lag far behind other regions”.
On the third night, the winner of Debate 1 will take on Antigua, the previous year’s winners, on the topic “Caribbean cyber crime legislation will lead to the suppression of free expression”.
Also on that night, the winner of Debate 2 will take on the winner of Debate 3. The topic will be “Lack of emphasis on the Arts will be detrimental to human development in the Caribbean”.
On the fourth night, the winner of Debate 4 will take on the winner of Debate 5 with the topic “The atrocity of our age is the billions of dollars spent on sports”.
Montserrat last won the competition in 2014.
Follow the rest of the competition on the official website at www.leewardislandsdebating.com .
