?And the winner is?? This phrase was pronounced more than once by Randhir Roopchund, chairperson of the jury, just to keep the suspense alive. In fact, until he had given out the name of the winning team, it was impossible for the audience to guess at it...

Last Wednesday the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) of Morcellement Saint-André opposed Droopnath Ramphul College for Girls in the inter-college debate organized by the youth centre of Pamplemousses jointly with the Ministry of Youth and Sports? Once the first team was proclaimed winner, while some were celebrating and showing joy, others were left stunned and disappointed. Both teams that had reached the final had delivered an incredible performance right up to the end.

The theme for this final was ?Young people of today are viewed as responsible and open-minded?. DAV College was trying to convince the jury that young people could be considered as responsible whereas Droopnath Ramphul was trying to show the opposite.

<B>Responsible for decline of our youth</B>

?Drugs, cigarettes, alcohol?? all these scourges came into the debate. Some speakers even went so far as to point at adults as being responsible for the decline of our youth, especially in the case of suicide and sexual intercourse with minors. What was surprising in this debate was the fact that each team was as convincing as the other.

The DAV College was represented by Pamela Bundhoo and Selven Soocoormanee, whereas Darshana Dhunoo and Vanusha Tengry represented Droopnath Ramphul College.

The winners were speechless after the proclamation. Afterwards, they managed to explain how they felt: ?We are very happy to have won this competition! To be honest, we did not expect to reach the finals, as it is the first time DAV College is taking part. So, it is a great honour for us. We would like to thank several people such as Miss Jewood, Mr. Sobnach and Mrs. Gokhool. They gave us immense support. Last, but not least, we would like to thank our school mates who came to support us right up to the finals.?

Due to the fact that both teams were equally good, Darshana Dhunoo received the price for best speaker. Throughout the whole final she proved how much she deserved it. Indeed, she was so comfortable and persuasive.

<B>Knock-out stages</B>

The competition began with 12 teams. The two teams in the finals had to go through the knock-out stages before being head-to-head in the final.

Before the chairperson of the jury Randhir Roopchund ? the two other members being Devanand Rambaruth and Viko Ramdewar - announced the name of the winning team, he conceded how difficult it was for them to choose, as the perfomances on both sides had been excellent. The ministry of Youth and Sports was represented by Shahil Reebye, principal youth officer, assisted by Vinay Narrainenand Chanda Ghoorah, senior youth officer and youth officer respectively. For Shahil Reebye, the whole event was a success. He explained: ?This event would not have been possible without the participation and collaboration of our stakeholders. Moreover, I would like to add that this competition has produced some good performances that should encourage us to organize similar competitions in the future and even to hold them on a national basis.?