Dear All,
The Empowering Afghan Girls and Young Women Speech Competition 2026, organized in partnership with Afghans for Progressive Thinking (APT), provides Afghan girls and young women with a platform to share their perspectives and speak about social issues they care about.
It is our pleasure to introduce the first panel of judges for our speech competition. Our judges come from all around the globe consisting of prominent Afghan changemakers, essay judges, debate coaches, teachers, and experienced debaters.
1. Diana Sorobey
Ms. Sorobey is an experienced debate coach with over seven years of coaching and judging experience. She has judged numerous rounds at national debate tournaments in Vietnam, including the SSIS Fall Invitational, Vietnam National NSDA Qualifier, and OISDC tournament. She has also served as a Public Forum judge at National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) tournaments in the United States, the Taiwan American School Invitational, and several online competitions.
Beyond judging, Ms. Sorobey has been a lead organizer of Vietnam’s national debate tournaments and has spearheaded the growth of the Public Forum debate movement in Vietnam, opening doors for hundreds of Vietnamese students.
Most recently, she received the Champion of International Speech and Debate Award at the Taiwan Speech and Debate Invitational, recognizing her significant contributions to expanding debate across Southeast Asia.
2. Lili dubois
Ms. Dubois is an experienced debate coach with over five years of coaching experience. She currently serves as the head coach of the SSIS Middle School Debate Club, teaching more than 110 middle school students. Over the years, she has developed an extensive curriculum covering Public Forum, World Schools Debate, and speech.
She has judged more than 50 rounds of Public Forum and World Schools Debate combined at national tournaments in Vietnam and international competitions. She has also played an integral role in co-organizing the Vietnam National Speech and Debate Tournament and expanding speech education opportunities for middle school students.
We would like to express our gratitude to all our judges for their continued support in this competition.
Warm regards,
Empowering Afghan Girls & Young Women Through Debate
(An initiative of Vietnam Public Forum Academy)
and Afghans for Progressive Thinking (APT)
