The battle of brains

The youth summit, ‘Dialogue’, was conducted by The Dialogue Foundation, in association with the Debating Society at IIT Madras recently. Around 50 students from colleges across India attended the national debating competition.

Some of the world’s sensitive and pressing issues were debated by the top 12 college teams. The teams were selected after an initial online elimination round followed by an interview.

The national finals, were held on September 30 on the topic ‘It is acceptable to compromise fundamental freedoms and human rights while implementing countering terrorism strategies.’ Loyola College of Arts and Science debated for the motion and SSN College of Engineering debated against it. An eminent and distinguished judging panel evaluated the teams’ performances and Loyola won Dialogue’s first edition of the national debating championship.

Started by Priyaa Kalyanaraman and Sunayana Golechha, The Dialogue Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation which offers a platform for the youth to engage in events that give them the opportunity to make a change.

In addition to a series of 13 student debates, two panelist discussions were held. The panelist discussion on ‘Who is to claim responsibility for corruption in India?’ was held on September 28. The panel comprised some of India’s most illustrious public figures like Dr Subramanian Swamy, T S Krishnamurthy, N Vittal, M R Venkatesh, Americai V Narayanan, and Varun Hemachandran. The discussion was moderated by P M Belliappa. The panelists engaged in meaningful deliberations and suggested possible reforms. The panelist discussion on the agenda ‘Capitalism is a primary requirement for the success and welfare in a free society’ was held on September 30. This panel comprised individuals from different walks of life like Sumithra Prasad, M Subramaniam, A Ramakrishna and Raghuvir Srinivasan, voicing their opinions about various aspects of a country’s financial implications and economic reforms. This discussion was moderated by Bernand Sami. Both the discussions witnessed a very interactive audience.

The Dialogue Foundation hopes to make Dialogue an annual event, and conduct many more events of the same sort in the future.