Student and Youth Working on Reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT) have described the recently held quiz and debate competitions as an innovative idea to equip students with knowledge and provide them with a platform to share ideas.
The quiz model is unique in providing several benefits that include testing the students’ education and public health knowledge levels and identifying information gaps to guide the SAYWHAT in its programming.
The debate model is tailor-made to sharpen students' and young people's advocacy skills by focusing on providing policy and programmatic recommendations to address emerging health and education challenges.
This year, the competitions were in their sixth and seventh editions respectively. The previous edition of both the SASI debate and the Universities Quiz Challenge productions have been broadcast across various television networks including Hearts and Soul TV (HSTV), Zimpapers TV Network, 3ktv and mind-set channel on Digital Satellite television (DStv).
The previous editions are available on the SAYWHAT YouTube platform.
Speaking on the sidelines of the "Speak and Solve Initiative" (SASI) debate competitions last Thursday, SAYWHAT executive director, Jimmy Wilford (pictured) said:
"We had two competitions, the quiz and debate competitions, participated in by 12 universities. The quiz was meant to test the students' understanding of public issues, focusing this year on global development agendas that have been set.
“We are also commemorating 30 years since the International Conference on Population and Development," he said.
Last Thursday and Friday, 12 universities battled it out in debate.
"This debate competition is not about finding one that is more intelligent or eloquent. The idea is to provide an innovative way for students to read and understand public health issues from various perspectives.
"It's called the 'Speak and Solve Initiative,' and it's meant to allow students to exchange ideas on global health, climate change, and sexual and reproductive health. This year's theme is "Unleashing Innovative Solutions to the Problems Faced by the Globe." he said.
SAYWHAT looks forward to holding more of these initiatives and working closely with tertiary institutions.
"We look forward to continuing the debates in the coming years, having done them for the past seven years.
“We are focusing on the health of young people. They will be equipped with knowledge and information that can aid their decision-making when it comes to their health and life.
It's important to note that the work being done by SAYWHAT and other civil society players within tertiary institutions complements the work of the Dean of Students Affairs departments. This ensures that we remove students from spaces where they might end up caught up in drug and substance abuse and helps them become responsible students in the long run," he said.