Bangkok--2 Aug--Access & Associates Assumption University invites you to the 2nd Thailand High School National Debating Championship 2007 (THS) on September 8-10, 2007 at its Bang Na Campus. It is a tournament that pools together Thai and International High Schools from all over Thailand for the purpose of encouraging more English communication and critical thinking within the High School community of the nation. The 1st THS in 2006 was welcomingly embraced by a mass number of high school students and educators, and was viewed as one of the most educational and fun academic competitions existing in Thailand. This year, as a continuation from last year’s success, Assumption University and the organizing committee of the tournament is devoted to improve the quality and expand the capacity of this prominent event. Debate is an activity that is highly beneficial to those who engage in it, as it promotes analytical reasoning and effective communication, at the same time, drives one to be more informed about the current world. Realizing its significance in shaping future leaders of the world, debate has been a popular academic activity in all English speaking nations, and has become increasingly popular in Asia, including Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and many more. Therefore, it is very important to instill this form of empowerment starting from high school level, in Thailand specifically, the nation that aims to be the learning hub center of Asia. Students participating in this tournament will not only gain a great deal of fun and valuable experiences, they can also continue this activity by joining the debate clubs of leading universities of Thailand in order to participate in international tournaments at Asia, Asia-Pacific and even World levels. Assumption University is very happy to have the Champion debaters of last year’s THS as new members of the Assumption International English Debating Society, who recently represented the university in the Austral-Asians Intervarsity Debating Championships in Malaysia. This year's THS promises to be an event filled with fun and interesting ways to learn and expand the mind. It also aims to bring together high school students from all walks of life, to hear their viewpoints about the many issues which are constantly challenging our world, including politics, morals, human rights, science and technology, and Thailand’s domestic issues. Three trainings are provided by the best debaters of Thailand to teach the students about debate from the very beginning to higher level skills. The first and second trainings were held in June and July, and the last one will be during the weekend of August 18-19, 2007. THS is under the umbrella of the 28th World Universities Debating Championships- the largest academic competition in the world, which will also take place at Assumption University from December 28, 2007 to January 5, 2008. Together with the support from our major sponsors Astra Zeneca, HSBC, Thai Airways and Exxon Mobil, Assumption University wishes to maximize the involvement from high schools around Thailand by exempting all registration fees for this tournament. The University strongly believes in the power of this activity and the positive influence it will cast upon Thailand's secondary education level. It is with the youths that the world can start changing, and debate creates the exact stage for these young people who will one day prove to be significant to this world.