Smart Club is a public speaking and debating platform started in 2005 by Youth Initiatives, a youth-led organization, and over the course of eight years has seen many students come and go.[break]
The Club and its weekly sessions are managed by the Club Coordination Team (CCT) of five members which has tenure of six months. The first session is the formal session which entirely focuses on public speaking. Every week, three participants (a pre-decided speaker, a self-decided speaker and an impromptu speaker) are selected as speakers who get five minutes each to speak on a pre-decided topic. Speakers get to express their views in strict English and even the smallest of mistakes are recorded by the role-takers. A commentator is assigned for each speaker along with a grammarian and a time keeper.
The Over Critical Analyst (OCA) concludes the session by reviewing the overall performances of all three speakers – whether or not they managed to stick to the format and time limit.
Photos Courtesy: Saifullah Muhammad
Members of Smart Club during one of their Saturday sessions at the World Bank’s Public Information Center (PIC) Hall in Yak & Yeti Hotel, Durbar Marg, Kathmandu.
A grand finale takes place every fourth week in which three best speakers of three previous sessions compete.
This strictly formal session goes on for an hour, sometimes an hour and a half; and after a fifteen-minute tea break, the same hall resonates with voices, loud and argumentative this time.
The topic for the informal session last week was whether or not the Chief Justice should be made Prime Minister. While the proposition team argued that if two posts are held by the same person, there will be monopoly, and since there is no Legislature in Nepal at present, taking legal actions in case of breach of power becomes difficult. The opposition team presented counter arguments that the only solution to the current political deadlock is fusing the Executive and Judiciary.
Bishnu Rokaya, 21, who has been attending these sessions for a year was one of the members in the proposition team. Infused with the spirit of the ongoing debate, he said, “If the CJ can be made PM, where’s the necessity of political parties? Why is there so much focus on the political culture of agreement?”
These sessions provoke curiosity in these young minds, so much can be learnt just from listening to the speakers take reference or give examples to support their arguments. Pradeep Niroula, 16, who was from the opposition team, argued, “The CJ is the best option Nepal has and it’s a leap of faith the country should take at this point of time.”
The informal debate session is lenient compared to the first one. After a two-minute preparation time for the proposition and opposition teams, five speakers from each team get a minute each to present their arguments. The debate is followed by a zero hour in which participants and even those from the audience can speak.
A member from each team gives reply speech to sum up their arguments in the end. After the debate is over, the members decide on a topic and speakers for the next week, role-takers are appointed (members volunteer gladly) by the CCT.
Apart from public speaking, documentary screenings are also organized and guest speakers are invited from time to time. Different styles of debating are incorporated in the informal sessions, from the British Parliamentary style to World Schools Debating Championship, and Karl Popper format.
Youth Initiative also organizes a public speaking workshop every six month for Smart club members. A person has to attend at least three sessions before s/he can participate in the sessions.
Pradeep Parajuli, Treasurer of Youth Initiatives, used to be an active member of Smart Club in 2009 and served thrice as a member of CCT. Currently, he looks after the Club as a supervisor.
Looking back at his days as a Smart Club member, he says, “For me, learning comes from sharing and listening to new ideas every week and meeting 50-60 people who come to the sessions with the same enthusiasm as mine was informative.”
Saifullah Muhammad, 19, who is a member of CCT says, “I used to get nervous while doing presentations in school, I wasn’t much of a talker, either. But after joining Smart Club and listening to so many people, I slowly started getting comfortable with the idea of sharing my opinions without hesitation and without letting nervousness in the way.”
“We haven’t brought about any groundbreaking changes by debating here but the collective opinions of all of us create this flow of energy that makes us passionate about public speaking. These discussions help us to think critically,” said Pradeep Niroula, 16.
For more information about Smart Club and their activities, visit their Facebook page and group. You can also go through the weekly session reports and speeches of the best speakers on their blog – oursmartclub.blogspot.com.
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