In the Summer of 2022, Dr. Ben Voth, a Professor of Rhetoric at Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas, led a team of debate experts from the United States of America, Rwanda and Nigeria to host a bootcamp for high school teachers from the six geopolitical zones of the country. These were trained (from 20th to 25th June, 2022 in Abakaliki), on the values of free speech, the art of democratizing classrooms and the process of moderating/adjudicating interactive spaces within their communities. At the end, the participants were equipped to create healthy interactional spaces that promote peaceful conversations among young people in Nigeria by bringing the country into contact with the dialogic ideals of the United States.
The Bootcamp was organized with the understanding that each teacher trained is equal to 100 students reached, due to the average size of a typical Nigerian secondary school’s classroom. To this end, after the bootcamp, participants were deployed to various states across the nation where they are now implementing development projects aimed at promoting peaceful dialogue as a means to mitigating violence in their respective communities.
So far, Miss Chioma Aja has set up a regional platform where young girls in South-Eastern, Nigeria creatively engage socio-cultural issues within their villages; Mr Ojukwu Felix and Emmanuel Ojiabor have commenced sensitization outreaches within their respective States; Mrs Enisan Agbonvihenle is coordinating a debate team in Command Day Secondary school, Ikeja; and Mr Eze Nwakuba is flagging off a nation-wide debate championship for Nigerian high school students.
In 2022, we received 93 applications and selected 37 participants drawn from the 36 States of Nigeria plus the Federal Capital Territory. In the Summer of 2024, we will be hosting the second edition of the project featuring 160 participants, including students, teachers, and young leaders. Participants in this next phase will compete in a quiz and debate tournament, and be trained in the arts of free speech, critical thinking and community engagement, as a means to attaining organic and people-driven development in various Nigerian villages and cities.
Attached is a PDF copy of the 2022 bootcamp brochure for more information.
