Suriaty Khalid, Cultural and Art Centre; Hegabisek Kumar A/L Rajan, Faculty of Science and Marine Environment

Participants from Singapore, India, and Sri Lanka gathered at UMT in January when the university became host to the 7^th International Tamil Debate Championship.

The occasion was considered special since it was the first time the competition was physically held after being conducted virtually in previous years.

The two-day event was organized by the Baratham Cultural Club, whose members are UMT students of Indian ethnicity.

Since its inception in 2018, the Tamil Debate Championship has seen active participation from several countries, including Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, as well as Malaysia.

The competition aims to empower young Tamil speakers by providing a platform to articulate their ideas while fostering the continued use and appreciation of the Tamil language.

For this year’s competition, the selection rounds were hosted in each participating country. For Malaysia, the selection round took place at UMT, and for Singapore, the screening was done at the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre. For India and Sri Lanka, the selection rounds were conducted online.

The top eight teams from an initial pool 40 progressed to the final round, held at UMT’s Sultan Mizan Hall. 

To ensure the event’s success, UMT collaborated with seven key organizations, including the Malaysian Indian Youth Council (Terengganu), Singapore Tamil Society, the Tamil Representative Council of Singapore, and Sri Lanka’s Tamil Debaters Council. Additionally, 16 higher education institutions from both Malaysia and abroad took part in the event.

For the first time, the International Tamil Youth Conference was also held in conjunction with the debate competition. The conference included keynote speeches, scholarly paper presentations, and panel discussions involving representatives from Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Singapore. Drawing 300 participants from across the globe, the conference was a resounding success.

The event was officiated by Tuan Haji Asmadi, Director General of the Terengganu Youth and Sports Department, who emphasized the importance of fostering global collaboration among Tamil youth. He highlighted how such initiatives strengthen intellectual and cultural ties while positioning Terengganu as a hub for international youth engagement. The conference’s theme, Revolutionary Voices of Tamil Youth, encouraged participants to take an active role in shaping their communities and driving social change.

The championship concluded with India’s team emerging victorious, followed by Sri Lanka in second place and another Indian team securing third place.

With a year of meticulous planning leading to its successful execution, the 7th International Tamil Debate Championship and Youth Conference at UMT set a new benchmark for future editions, paving the way for continued engagement and empowerment of Tamil-speaking youth worldwide.

Seeing such success, Sajishnavan, President of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Debaters Council, offered to collaborate with UMT to further elevate the debate competition.