Discussing and debating developments in science is important, because we all need to be a part of shaping what the future looks like. Science is such a big part of our world and our lives and, so, it is influenced by and affects people, the environment, economics, politics, culture, and more. The National Science Schools Debates project, run by the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement, encourages young people to think about and talk about the many different perspectives around science and technology research and developments.
In the provincial competition in 2021, teams discussed and debated the exciting topic of gene editing. Gene editing raises many ethical questions (what is right and what is wrong), so the teams had interesting discussions, while always remaining respectful of each other’s…