About

I’m Shrish and I currently go to high school at Dubai College. I began debating a few years ago and that is where my story begins.

One of the biggest misconceptions about debating is that it’s something you are “born with” or a personality trait that is specific to a select few people. I believe that anyone who trains hard, practices with determination, and willing to challenge themselves can become excellent debaters.

When I first started, I didn’t particularly consider myself a “natural” at debating. But in the past four years, I have developed and grown through my experiences and hard-work and have come a long way.

Despite being one of the youngest participants in the senior division, I was awarded the ‘Best Speaker Award’ at Gulf Debates 2019 which served as the spark to my initial debate journey. Gulf Debates is the region’s most competitive debate competition, and this experience filled me with confidence. Despite 2020 being a difficult year, I went on to participate in multiple international and regional competitions. I was awarded as the ‘Best Speaker’ at Debate Cup 2020 and crowned the Indian Rotary Club and Emirates Debate Champion. Through these experiences, I have matured and challenged myself to be a better debater. But I always felt that it was important to pass on my experience to the people around me, which is why I have been leading the Junior Debate Club in Dubai College and trained countless budding debaters.

I have been very fortunate to have access to a strong debate club in my school. However, I found that there are many students who are not as lucky as me to have a place where they can discuss important issues and compete. Recognizing this issue, DebatePro was founded to help these schools create a formalized debate club and then provide them with our proprietary material to teach their students effectively. 

We want to ensure that every student can receive a holistic education where they can develop transferable skills that are important in life. Our program looks to increase a student’s social awareness on issues around the world while improving their confidence and articulation when speaking.

Through collaborating and setting up clubs across the world, we have created a network of enthusiastic debaters who can collaborate through our webinars and practice debates. But most importantly, they will receive a cohesive learning experience through our debate curriculum.

Shrish Janarthanan – Founder of DebatePro