Pan African Universities Debating Championship is the biggest intercollegiate debate championship on the African continent established in 2008 by the University of Botswana Debate Masters Association. It is a platform that affords students from all universities within the continent to discuss issues of Africa and beyond. PAUDC is parliamentary debating tournament held in British Parliamentary Debate format. The current PAUDC champions are Erasmus Sebgefia and Michael Ampah Yeboah from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. The 2020 edition of the PAUDC will be hosted by the University of Botswana Debate Masters Association in Botswana under the theme; “Channelling the roots of African Debate.”
History
The OSI African Regional Office and the Youth Initiative partnered with the Pan-African Universities Debating Championship organizing committee and the University of Botswana to organize the first-ever Pan African Universities Debating Championship in 2008 to provide students from various African universities the opportunity to interrogate issues of African and Global importance.
Format
The championship is usually held in eight days. It usually takes place in the first two weeks of December and is being hosted in a different country every year The PAUDC structure is the British Parliamentary, made up of four teams of two, with two teams supporting a motion, and two teams opposing. Debating teams are independent and compete with each other. The competition involves nine preliminary rounds, which become "power-paired" as the tournament progresses, matching the strongest-performing teams against each other. The process of scoring and pairing these teams is known as "tabbing". The scoring of teams is done by judges, most of whom are students or former students from the competing institutions, who return "ballots" with their scores to the adjudication team, led by a Chief Adjudicator who is assisted by one or more deputies. At the end of the debate, teams are ranked from 1st to 4th. The team names are as follows. Opening Government, consisting of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister; Opening Opposition, consisting of the Opposition Leader and Deputy Opposition Leader; Closing Government, consisting of the Government Member and Government Whip; and Closing Opposition, consisting of the Opposition Member and the Opposition Whip. The speaking order is Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Opposition Leader, and so forth.
