“The Concern Debates pre-date the introduction of Social and Political Studies to the curriculum and it is to them that the public is indebted for children being made aware of North/South differences based on aid, trade and debt. Again the justice issues involved are an invaluable moral resource for analysing issues at home.
…As somebody who was the Auditor of the Literary and Debating Society at UCG in 1965, I have remained convinced of the value of debating in itself.
I particularly commend the structure of the Concern Debates with its emphasis on participation in a league system. This validated the emphasis on education and promotion of clarity of thought.
All students may thus be very proud of their Certificate of Participation in the Debates which indicates something far more important than having been involved in a competition, however worthy”
Michael D. Higgins. T.D, July, 1999
Running for more than 30 years, the Concern Debates programme has engaged tens of thousands of young people in the art of speech writing, making winning arguments and landing lightening-quick rebuttals as more than 100 schools are directly involved across Ireland annually.
Source: Michael Doorly, Concern Worldwide
Year: 1984-2016
The Concern Debates perpetual trophy (with winning schools from 1984-2016 engraved on its collar) courtesy of Concern Worldwide
Note: a new perpetual trophy installed in 2017.
Irish Global Solidarity in 100 Objects is organised by developmenteducation.ie, an online hub focused on learning about the unequal and unjust shape of the world today, and is coordinated by Aidlink, Concern Worldwide, the Irish Development Education Association, the National Youth Council of Ireland, Self Help Africa, Trócaire and 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World.
DevelopmentEducation.ie is part funded by Irish Aid.
