20 African countries participate in 2009 ASDC

The FNB-sponsored event will include topics for discussion such as the funding of political parties and whether education should be locally or nationally controlled.

Seventeen of South Africa's debating schools, both public and private, will compete for the ASDC Schools' Cup. The contenders will compete for the title in this youth dialogue event which has been running for three years.

"The value of a strong democracy is its ability to debate different points of views. This is an opportunity for the youth to excel in the debating arena and at the same time to express their views on issues that they are directly faced with," says Francois Pienaar, Head of Sponsorships at FNB.

The programme will feature guest speakers including Governor Tito Mboweni and world-renowned swimmer and motivational speaker, Penny Heyns. Topics will include issues such as African unity, transformation of tertiary education institutions and South Africa's foreign policy.