JADE celebrating five years
Published:Friday | October 4, 2019 | 12:18 AMVanessa James/Gleaner Writer
Empowerment comes in many forms, one of which is being able to articulate and argue one’s point well, without resorting to conflict. The Jamaican Association for Debating and Empowerment (JADE) Limited has taken on the mandate to teach youths the fine art of debating, where they benefit from other soft skills.
Formerly called Jamaican Association for Empowerment through Debating (JAED), the organisation was established on March 8, 2014, and is proud of its accomplishments over the past five years.
Germaine Barrett, executive director of JADE, said the organisation was born out of a lack of debating happening in Jamaica.
“Prior to the establishment of JADE, we noticed that there was not a significant amount of debating happening on the island. So for example, on the high-school level, Burger King ran a debate competition, which was on pause at the time, so high-school students didn’t have an opportunity to engage in competitive debating,” Barrett stated,
“On the tertiary level, we have close to 20 tertiary institutions in Jamaica and at that time (around 2013) only two institutions (UTech and UWI) had a thriving debating team, and they only participated in one competitive activity, which is an international competition called The World Universities Debating Championship.”
Barrett stated that they believed this was inadequate and that a more coordinated approach towards supporting and promoting debating in Jamaica was needed.
“We looked at several models [of debating] that existed, for example, the North American British Parliamentary Debating Association and other similar entities and we saw how, through these entities, they were able to develop very mature debating societies, and we wanted that for Jamaica as well. So that’s largely what led to a group of us as stakeholders coming together, and we ultimately formulated what became the Jamaican Association for Debating and Empowerment,” the director disclosed.
The organisation was called JAED due to the focus being mainly on empowerment through communication skills and using these skills to develop confidence. However, this was changed and the focus was placed mainly on debating, with plans to incorporate empowerment with the arts.
Pepper pot
“The idea that we have formulated from last year that we haven’t gotten the funding for as yet is called JADE Pepper pot. So if your thing is poetry, or dance, or painting, then you can be empowered in those domains as well, and that’s largely what the empowerment aspect of our name speaks to,” Barrett stated.
Other empowerment activities that the organisation has taken on include doing presentations at children’s homes on conflict resolution and how public speaking is important. JADE was also present at the Prefects’ Association summit to teach students on the importance of communication in leadership going into the future and how and solution initiatives can come out from debating as well.
As part of its five-year anniversary celebration, the organisation has embarked on five different initiatives:
1. The JADE College Cup – This event is to provide teachers’ colleges, community colleges and sixth-form institutions with the training and the opportunity to compete among themselves. This event will be held on November 2 at Church Teachers’ College. It will utilise British parliamentary debating format and focused on critical thinking rather than the ability to speak publicly and eloquently; which is more important.
2. Jamaica Debate Academy and Open, which will take place on December 17-20, will include a two-day period of lessons being taught by local and international professors in areas of international politics and various disciplines related to their university life. This tournament is also opened to international participants and will end with a competition.
3. National Collegiate Debating Championships, to be held on February 26 and 27. This is the most difficult type of debate on the island and it is the most prestigious tournament, format so teams that win are essentially the best teams on the island. This will be held at The University of the West Indies Western campus in Montego Bay.
4. JADE CXC Debates, where key areas in the CXC syllabi are identified and given as issues to be discussed, helping students to better understand the concepts being taught, and helping them to articulate their reasoning on an examination. This will be held at St Andrew High School for Girls and Montego High School for Girls in March 2020.
5. Awards banquet where all the successes and areas of excellence are award, celebrated and encouraged. This will be held in May 2020.
Information on JADE and these upcoming events can be found on the association’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages @JADELimited.