TSL Primary and Secondary School International Debates 5th and 6th July 2021

On July 5th students from 80 countries around the world congregated online to debate the questions ‘What can we do to prevent the sixth mass extinction’
Representing different groups, Governments, Citizens, Businesses and Scientists the students shared their ideas and asked each other questions. They came up with the top 40 ideas. Renewable energy, improving environmental education and forming partnerships were among the most important ideas raised by the Primary debaters.
2 of the TSL essay winners Betty Namukose from Year 4 and Darnell Vincent from Year 6 were among the Prize winners announced at the end of the debates. Betty came 3rd and Darnell 8th in this International Essay Competition . Betty spoke in the Business team who were mentioned by the judges as having the most comprehensive arguments. Well done to them both and to Janavi Viswanathan Year 3 whose prize winning video on Deforestation was shown at the beginning of the debate.
Day 2 of the debates on July 6th were with Secondary school students around the world. From the International School, Vanshika Parikh in Year 10 was an essay winner and main debater, and Janani Jagannathan from Year 8 participated as an observer. Debaters on this day were either Pro or Con the sentence about ‘Global Diversity in crisis – What can we do to prevent the 6th mass extinction’. Vanshika spoke for the Pro group and the groups arguments were highly commended by the judges. Yan Luc Morel’s video about Sustainable living was shown at the beginning of the debate.
The schools debate and essay competition is held annually by TSL, a global education charity working for a sustainable future in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. It gives an opportunity for students and teachers to connect with influential leaders and sustainability experts and explore pathways for achieving the UN sustainable development goals.