History

After working in debating and professional development for more than five years our founders realized the need for an organisation that provides not just training on how to speak better, but an organisation that equips individuals with all the skills needed to excel in the workplace and beyond. Thus after much thought and planning discoursify was born.

Meet our Founders

Qasim Osman

Co- Founder and Director of Professional Development.

Qasim Osman is a medical student who debated on the South African Schools Debating team in 2020, he has since gone on to serve as Chairperson of the Southern African Universities Debating Council and Secretary General of the Pan African Universities Debating Council. He was also appointed alongside Seshiran as Co- Head-coaches for Team South Africa in 2023.

Qasim is also a leadership and civic engagement program alumni of the US Department of State, this particular program inspired him to form the professional development side of Discoursify.

Seshiran Govender

Co- Founder and Director of Schools Development.

Seshiran Govender is Co-Founder and Director of Schools Development, overseeing programme growth, school partnerships, and international delivery. He has coached debate across the UK, Africa, and Europe, working with national teams, development squads, and school programmes.

Seshiran has served as a Debate Teacher with ISSOS International in Scotland, coached the Kenyan National Team for the World Schools Debating Championship, and worked with Scottish Schools Debating as a Development Squad Coach. In South Africa, he has held Head Coach roles at leading schools and was appointed Co-Head Coach of Team South Africa in 2023.

Meet our Head of Education and Partnerships

Shannon Wardlaw

Head of Education and Partnerships.

Shannon Wardlaw is our Head of Education & Partnerships, responsible for programme design, learning outcomes, and building high-trust relationships with schools and educators.

Shannon is currently Debater in Residence at The King’s School, Canterbury and a Head Coach within Kenyan School Debate.

With experience across both school and university contexts, Shannon supports students from introductory skills through to competitive excellence. She previously worked at University of the Witwatersrand as a Critical Thinking Tutor, where she ran weekly tutorials supporting first-year engineering students.

Her work focuses on making debating and MUN more accessible, more structured, and more empowering — with strong coaching systems, clear progression, and student confidence at the centre.

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