Schools’ public speaking underway

Organizers and sponsors of the 2007 Cable and Wireless Secondary Schools Public speaking competition are expecting an even higher standard of performance, given the nature of last year’s tournament as well as the greater participation from schools and faculty.{{more}}

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, October 2nd, hours before the competition officially got started, President of the Lions Club South Lennox Bowman indicated that schools and teachers are becoming more involved in preparation for the event by holding their own competitions, and more students are attending the preliminaries and the finals.

The Lions, who have been organizing the event for the past 13 years, after taking over from the St. Vincent Jaycees, have been working along with the Leo Club of St. Vincent, and the Ministry of Education.

The competition got started on Tuesday, with the schools divided into four zones.

Participants in Zone one spoke on the topic “The environment in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is conducive to high levels of crime”.

In zone two, which took place on Wednesday at the Intermediate High School, the students spoke on the topic “Corporate greed is directly responsible for the incidence of Global Warming”.

Yesterday, zone three took place at the North Union Secondary School, with the topic “Are we becoming too reliant on remittances from Vincentians abroad and grants from foreign countries?”

Zone four of the competition will take place at the Barrouallie Secondary School next Tuesday, with the topic “The absence of an agreed professional standard contributes to the quality of broadcasting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines”. Six finalists will be chosen from the zones to compete in the finals slated for the Methodist Church Hall on October 25th.

Cable and Wireless spokesperson Odini Sutherland, commended the Lions Club South for organizing the annual event, and maintained her company’s commitment to the event.

Sutherland handed over a sponsorship cheque of EC $12,000 to Bowman and a member of the organizing committee, immediate Past President Junior Bacchus.

The winner receives a Dell Desktop computer and one year’s free internet service.