REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MONROVIA, LIBERIA
Press Release
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Debate
Builds Tolerance and Increases Possibility of Maintaining Peaceful
Co-Existence, Foreign Minister Ngafuan Averred
(MONROVIA, THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014): Foreign Minister
Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan says debate is a valuable positive feature for any
society as it builds tolerance and increases the possibility of maintaining
peaceful-coexistence. Minister Ngafuan said the more people engage in debate, the more tolerant they
become of opposing views and perspectives because they realize that what
matters is not their physique or skin pigmentation or the depth of their
pockets but the soundness and validity of their ideas and arguments.
“The person who quickly throws a blow or fires a gun in an argument or
contentious situation is a person who quickly runs out of solid ideas and
arguments that can debunk their opponents”. He said where a culture of debate exists
people tend to “disagree agreeably”, reducing the possibility of violent confrontation
and increasing the possibility of peaceful co-existence.
Speaking on the theme, “Building A Scholarly Character in the Liberian
Student” the launch of the Inter-High School National Debate Competition on
Thursday, May29, 2014 at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion, Minister Ngafuan said the family has a great responsibility in
this process of building a scholarly character in Liberian students because the
family is the individual’s first point of contact with his community.
“Parents must show a sense of appreciation for scholarly things in order
to inspire in their children to the consciousness for scholarship. This does
not necessarily mean that parents must have PHDS before they inspire their
children who aspire to have PHDs”.
The Liberian Foreign Minister revealed that another
way to promote scholarly attributes in students is by recognition of their
academic excellence. He said recognizing
students for academic excellence has a double barrel effect. Firstly, it
encourages high performers to do better and motivates the low performers to
buckle and put in their all.
“When we recognize our students we give them
our approbation that what they are doing is desirable and in the best interest
of themselves and our country; but when we act in an insensitive and
indifferent manner to their
achievements, we derail their self-confidence and de-motivate them” Minister
Ngafuan told the cheering audience.
Minister Ngafuan emphasized that in this age
of globalization and technological advancement, it is almost impossible to
build a scholarly character in students if the media does not play a positive role. He revealed the media has a very critical
role to execute in building a scholarly character in students because many of
what students hear and read every day comes from the microphones and pens of
journalists.
“The stories that journalists write and the
stories that they read help to inform the thinking of students. Therefore
journalists must be conscious of their critical role in society and never back
pedal on professionalism. “The words or phrases commonly used by journalists on
radio may sooner than later become the words and phrases used by many young
people in their everyday conversations and the quality or standard of writing
journalists employ in their newspapers will soon be adopted by many young
people as the acceptable standard of writing”, the Liberian Foreign Minister
told the gathering dominated by young students.
He profusely commended the new and vigorous
team at the Ministry of Education for their far-sightedness and hard work in
trying to rebrand the educational landscape of Liberia stating similar
initiatives have been launched in the past, but they have faltered. Minister Ngafuan hoped and trusts that that
the launch of the high school debate will not be the end of this endeavor. “I
anticipate the expansion of this and related programs to even the smallest
schools in the far flung areas of this country”.
The launch of the Inter-High School National
Debate Competition was attended by an array of personalities including members
of the diplomatic corps, officials of government, civil society, international
NGOs among others.