Makerere University has been crowned the champions of the seventh debates and poetry competition that was organized by the Uganda Dialogue Arena (UDA).

The competition was hosted by International University of East Africa, started on September 27-28, 2023, where a number of universities like Kyambogo, Kampala International University, Nkumba, Islamic University in Uganda and Uganda Christian University were present.

Fredrick Musiimenta, the Executive Director of UDA when asked why the debates are taking place in schools and universities, he advised that students need to do more research on climate change, get to know climate change effects and solutions to these negative effects.

“They should educate themselves and other youth about the negative impacts of climate change. They should also focus on Passion to Action and plant more trees to save our planet,” he noted.

“We are focusing on the youth because as young people, the environment damage effects will affect them, mostly a few years from now,” Musiimenta said.

Makerere University faced off Kyambogo University in the finals of the debates themed, how the negative effects of climate change may impact on human livelihood.

The Uganda Dialogue Arena has been organizing climate change debates that started with secondary schools themed as Green schools Initiative and financed by Sweden, where they have engaged with more than 100 schools in Uganda in  an effort to reduce the negative effects of climate change, impacting more than 107,000 students and teachers throughout the country.

The initiative was then moved to Universities and themed the Inter University Debate and Poetry on climate change impacts which have been conducted in different universities around the country.