UC Students Win Debate Competition Hosted by Cambodian Red Cross UC Students Win Debate Competition Hosted by Cambodian Red Cross By No Sophearith

By No Sophearith

On December 17, the University of Cambodia Speech and Debate Society (UCSDS) organized its first project, a Presentation Skills Contest, at the University of Cambodia (UC). The theme of the contest was “ASEAN and Youth.” UCSDS came up with this theme to raise awareness about how Cambodian youth can prepare for the opportunities and challenges of ASEAN integration.

Debaters representing the University of Cambodia at the Cambodian Red Cross debate

On November 21, a team of three students from the University of Cambodia (UC) won the Cambodian Red Cross competition program, themed “Getting to Zero,” in recognition of World AIDS Day on December 1, 2011. The theme refers to three goals of the World AIDS Campaign: zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths, and zero discrimination. Four universities participated in this program: UC, Institute of Technology of Cambodia, University of Health Science, and Norton University. Teams from each university were asked to respond to questions related to HIV and AIDS, and there were two rounds in the competition. The topic of the first round was the “Three Zeros,” while the topic in the second round was “Prevention of HIV from Mother to Child.”

The three students selected to represent UC in the competition were Mondoung Monyrath, No Sophearith, and San Sethvitou. UC competed against the Institute of Technology of Cambodia in the second round and answered the following questions to win the competition: What is link response? How can HIV be transmitted from mother to child? How can we prevent HIV infection from mother to child? And, as a youth, what can you do to prevent HIV infection from mother to child? The UC team won the competition after receiving a score of 95, compared to the score of 85 received by the Institute of Technology of Cambodia.

After their win, the debaters posed for a picture with their advisors, Gina Lopez, Associate Dean of the College of Management, and Min Seiha, Associate Dean of the College of Social Sciences.

“The competition was really great. . .[because it promoted awareness to]. . .all people in Cambodia about how to prevent themselves and their children from being infected with HIV,” said Leng Sotheary, a UC student who attended the event in support of the UC team. She also added that the competition demonstrated youths’ knowledge about HIV/AIDS and prevention of HIV/AIDS.

As one of the three student competitors from UC, I want to share that this event is more than about winning a competition: it is about providing important information about HIV/AIDS to people in Cambodia, especially the rural poor who may lack access to the information. In honor of World AIDS Day, I encourage people to learn more about HIV/AIDS and preventing infection.

Source: UC Bulletin December 2011, Page 26