Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Five teenage Bahrain School students attended the recent Doha Debates and described it as a 'once-in-a-lifetime experience'.
Young people sent a strong message to their leaders, saying education is pointless without the freedom to express your opinion.
Out of an audience of students, 53 per cent supported the motion: This House believes education is worthless without freedom of speech, while 47 per cent voted against it.
The debate was held on the eve of Qatar's World Innovative Summit for Education (WISE), which attracted international experts to discuss education in the 21st Century.
"It was amazing to meet people with such passion for their beliefs and see one of the many forms of debate performed by intellectuals who truly believe in their arguments," said student Natasha Campbell. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Four academic community members debated for 40-minutes the motion and answered questions for another 40 minutes.
"The motion is pertinent to Bahrain School students since graduates are required to study US government and democratic principles in order to receive an American Diploma from the Department of Defence school," Randy McCord, a teacher of Social Studies who accompanied the students, said.
The panelists supporting the motion said the objective of education was not just to impart knowledge but also to help people make their own decisions and challenge the injustice that they see around them. The opposition argued that education had value even without freedom of speech and could provide a better life to individuals and societies. Only an educated society can promote values such as freedom of speech, they said.
