The inaugural U.S. Universities Arabic Midwest Debate Championship was held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this spring.

The event was coordinated by the Less Commonly Taught Languages program (LCTL) and the Arabic Language Program in the Department of Linguistics in collaboration with the U.S. Arabic Debate Union and many on-campus cosponsors.

Leading the organizing efforts were Eman Saadah, who serves as director of LCTL and director and language coordinator of Arabic, and students Shireen Aydogan and Nareen Aydogan, who are a part of the Arabic program.

They said organizing an event of this scale was a challenging but fulfilling experience.

“This was the first-ever Arabic regional debate championship and was solely organized by the U of I,” said Shireen Aydogan. “Without a blueprint to follow, planning and execution were particularly challenging. From securing over $20,000 in funds to communicating with debating teams across the U.S., handling hotel reservations, classroom bookings, and managing design and media, we worked tirelessly. Overcoming these challenges made the event's success even more rewarding.”

The regional championship brought 10 debate teams together for a chance to qualify at the national championship next year, as well as 15 judges. 

“It was both a national and local triumph: nationally, we attracted top Arabic debate teams from the Midwest, and locally, our team from Illinois secured the runner-up title,” said Saadah. “Establishing this groundbreaking event has also paved the way for other institutions to look to us as a model for success.”

Editor's note: This story first appeared in the School of Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics fall 2024 newsletter.