Every youth aspires to be heard but how many of them are willing to take the risk of addressing an audience?
A hundred participants belonging to 14 different schools between the age of 13 and 18 congregated at one venue in order to test their mettle as public speakers. They were competing for the Qatar Open 2012-Youth Public Speaking Championship. The preliminary round was held at MES Indian School on November 2. One highlight of the event was the rich fusion of nationalities; the participants belonged to 16 nationalities, and this included Qatari students for the first time. This is proof of the soaring popularity of the championship.
The afternoon saw four groups of students sharing touching personal stories, making firm statements and voicing their opinion on the topic for the preliminary round – “if you risk nothing, you risk everything”.
The participants exhibited tenacity, excellence in speech, variety and presentation skills. The topic was approached in numerous angles much to the delight of the judges and audience. At the end of the contest, 28 participants were selected for the semi-finals which was held on Friday. The grand Finale has been scheduled for November 30.
Qatar Toastmasters Club, the organisers of this annual contest, works towards empowering the youth of Qatar to be heard above the masses. They consider the contest to be a platform that gives youngsters confidence to ensure their opinions matter.
“With the sole intention of benefitting young speakers, Qatar Toastmasters Club hopes to continue improving the standards of this contest.” More details at www.qatartoastmasters.net
The Peninsula
