FW de Klerk inaugural debate a win for KDVP

King David High School Victory Park’s debating team won the inaugural FW de Klerk Foundation Challenge Debate against Randfontein High School at KDVP on 29 May, arguing that absolute free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.

The Challenge Debate is an initiative by the FW de Klerk Foundation to promote critical thinking, cross-cultural dialogue, and constitutional literacy in South Africa.

The team, made up of Levi Lipschitz, Dylan Steiner, and Kate Lange, dissected the topic against tough opposition from Randfontein. KDVP’s values of respect, integrity, and tolerance, were there in abundance, and the debate featured exceptional debating from both teams.

The FW de Klerk Foundation works with young people from diverse backgrounds to promote intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and cross-cultural dialogue. It believes that informed conversation among the youth is the foundation of a cohesive society. The foundation also has a mandate to foster a greater constitutional literacy in young people, in the belief that the South African Constitution is the foundation of our democracy.

The Challenge Debate is intended to further these aims across communities. KDVP was honoured to host the inaugural debate, reflecting its reputation as one of the premier debating schools in Gauteng and the foundation’s belief that KDVP’s debaters had the calibre to contribute to its success.

Although a small school, KDVP punches way above its numbers when it comes to debating, and the request came at an auspicious moment: in May, the KDVP senior and junior teams took part in the final debate of the Atheneum Debating League, of which the school is a founder member. Both teams fought tenaciously through 11 previous rounds to reach the finals. Although the seniors lost to Jeppe Boys and the juniors to Roedean in the finals, KDVP placed first in individual speaker points and rankings and teams from many schools three or four times its size didn’t progress beyond the break rounds in this competition.

The inaugural Challenge Debate was attended by officials from the FW de Klerk Foundation, as well as several representatives of the National Foundation’s Dialogue Initiative (NFDI), a nongovernment organisation that works closely with the foundation to promote dialogue among the youth. KDVP debating hopes to strengthen ties with both the foundation and the NFDI.

The debate was adjudicated by three elite judges: Bella Mkhabela and Christopher Hojem, two of South Africa’s most highly respected debating adjudicators, national selectors, and speakers. The third adjudicator, Jaki Seroke, was involved in the liberation struggle and was imprisoned on Robben Island for six months. He commented on the role of democracy in South Africa.

Participants said that it was pleasing to win the debate, but the symbolism of the evening was of far greater importance.