MANDEVILLE, Manchester — About eight schools from central Jamaica are expected to participate in a regional heritage debating competition on Wednesday, October 29.

Organised by the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), the competition will be held at the Cecil Charlton Hall in Mandeville, beginning at 10:00 am. The moot to be debated is: “Be it resolved that the works and teachings of National Hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, are critical to the building of modern Jamaica”.

Winsome Vanhorne-Christie, JIS regional services manager, said the annual heritage debate competition has been in existence for more than five years.

“We have always felt that it was important for our children to learn about the life and teachings of all our heroes and heroine, as without a good knowledge of our past achievements and struggles, it is difficult for persons to fully appreciate our national identity,” she said.

With this in mind, Vanhorne-Christie said, the department has promoted a holistic approach to the competition.

“Every year, each of our six regional offices debates a different moot as well as a different hero or heroine, and I am happy to say that the standard that we have observed, to date, has been extremely high,” she noted.This year’s competition, the regional services manager said, promises to be “one with a difference”.

“We have now partnered with the Jamaica Public Service Company and they will be our official sponsors. We do not intend to stop at the regional level, we intend to carry the competition up to the national level and so we will be having a champion school for the island. The crowning will take place in Ocho Rios during the month of November,” she pointed out.

Members of the public, Vanhorne-Christie said, are invited to come out and support “this very important activity”.