KUWAIT: The India International School, Mangaf conducted the first Yusuf Saleh Alyan Memorial inter school debate competition on Dec 19. The chief guest on the occasion was Saleh Yusuf Alyan, son of the late Yusuf Alyan the founder of Kuwait Times. Officials from the newspaper Ibraheem Al-Barjas, Public Relations Manager, and Adnan Saad, Marketing Manager were present during the event.
The respected figures that comprised the judging panel were Muna Al-Fuzai (Kuwait Times columnist), Dr. Sangeetha Raj, (Managing Editor, Kuwaitsamachar.com), and Valia Sajjad (Arab Times senior correspondent).

The competition began with a recitation from the Holy Quran, which was followed by a rendition of the Kuwait National Anthem and the Indian National anthem.
The school's director Moosa Koya welcomed guests and parents, "I am very happy to be here, and to welcome you all to this function. We are going to conduct a debate on media, in memory of late Yusuf Saleh Alyan, founder of Kuwait Times. Late Yusuf Saleh Alyan lives in our minds even though he has became a part of history. His words were the voice of a significant era.

Yusuf Saleh Alyan was the architect of Kuwaiti media. He demonstrated his strength to start an English newspaper before any progressive steps were taken for the development of this small country. Actually, it was the manifestation of contemporary Arab society's participation in the field of education. He became a highly respectable figure among Kuwaitis and expatriates and not doubt, he is the pioneer in the field of Kuwaiti media. May Almighty Allah bless him," Koya added.

He said, "It is a remarkable step by the Indian International School to conduct a debate on media in the honorable memory of late Yusuf Saleh Alyan, and we wish to conduct similar programs in an elaborate manner in the future. The topic we have selected for the debate is very relevant, which is widely discussed at present. I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards Abd Al Rahman Alyan, the Chief Editor of Kuwait Times, Dr. Ziyad Alyan, and Badriya Darwish, General Manager of Kuwait Times.

The Principal Anis Ahmad introduced the motion 'Should Media be Given Absolute Freedom?' It was declared open by chief guest, Saleh Alyan. Eleven Indian schools participated in the competition: India International School, Mangaf (The host school), Indian Community School, Amman Street, Integrated Indian School, Jleeb (KPS), Carmel School, Khaitan, Fahaheel AlWataniya Indian Private School (DPS), Indian Educational School, Jleeb (BVB), Indian Central School, Abbasiya, United Indian School, Abbasiya, Indian Public School, Salmiya, Indian Community School, Salmiya, Indian English Academy School Salmiya (Don Bosco).

The members of the school's English Literary Club, Abdul Azeez, Leya and Asma served as the evening's masters of ceremonies. After fierce competition , Indian Educational School emerged winners. The team members were: Vedula Soundarya Lahari and George Vijay Koshy. The Runners up trophy went to Fahaheel AlWataniya Indian Private School. The members of the team were Raghavi Vishwanath and Shivam Sharma.

The winners of the individual prizes are as following : First prize(for the motion) was won by Vedula Soundarya of Indian Educational School, the second prize went to Rakhee Menon of United Indian School. The first prize (against the motion) was won by George Vijay of Indian Educational School and Shivam Sharma of Fahaheel AlWataniya Indian Private School bagged the second prize. Also, Minhajuddin Sharfuddin of India International School was awarded a consolation prize.

The competition will now be held annually under the patronage of Kuwait Times, announced Adnan Saad, Marketing Manager of the newspaper. Students also held an exhibition on the sidelines of the event.

Popular columnist Muna Al-Fuzai said, "First of all, I think it was a generous act by the Kuwait Times to hold this competition in the name of Yusuf Alyan. Secondly, I am very pleased to see staff members of Kuwait Times, from the Marketing and Editorial sections. I am also happy to attend the exhibition that is being held after the competition.

I hope that next year, we will see a second debate where a different topic will be chosen which also related to the media. I am pleased that they tackled both takes of the motion; for and against. This was really good. After the competition, I offered students some advise and comments about public speaking, which I hope will be of use to them," Al-Fuzai added.

Students' command over the language, delivery and content was really powerful. It was strong, and I liked it. I definitely believe that media should given absolute freedom. It is not the media's mistake when individuals deliver the wrong message. The media plays one role: to be informative. When people misunderstand the message, it is no fault of the media's," she concluded. - Kuwait Times