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Rotary Speech Competition
The final for the regional speech competition was held on Tuesday evening 15 September and hosted by the Dunedin Central Club. The three finalists in the competition each delivered excellent and inspirational three-minute speeches before a judging panel of three people and an audience of Rotarians and friends of around 36 people.
Dunedin Central club president introduced and thanked the students for their hard work in preparing and practicing delivering the speeches, she also praised them for their courage!
The three speakers all delivered eloquent, coherent and expressive speeches, the judges remarked that they made their job very hard but praised the students for their very high quality speeches.
Left image; Malak Tamimi, first place winner shown proudly wearing her prize medallion and winner's trophy. Top right image, the three speakers from left, Eli Puma, Malak Tamimi and Riley Miller. In the bottom right image, Lynne Guy is presenting Malak with her prizes.
The speakers, their placings and speech topics were:
First: Malak Tamimi - Queens High School - The "Road to Feminism" . Malak's speech captivated the audience. She delivered a heart felt and emotional message addressing how stereotypes, inequality and cultural differences challenge a young muslim woman growing up in NZ. She spoke with ‘poetic’ expression and she used a wonderful analogy being on a highway journey.
Second: Eli Puma - St Peters College, Gore- "Show me what good leadership is!" Eli's speech was highly engaging and very memorable; he contrasted the ideals of good leadership instilled at his school with examples of poor leadership- leaving him feeling ‘confused’.
Third: Riley Miller: Mt Aspiring College- who spoke with clarity and confidence on why sport participation is such an important activity for children. His speech was not only concise and clear, but also humorous, witty and wise.
All three speakers were presented with a generous monetary prize and a winner's medallion. The winner was presented with the Martyn Jensen trophy.
The trophy was given by Martyn Jensen (Waimate Club). The competition was started following the 2003 District Conference in Invercargill when Don Irvine was DG, Martyn donated the trophy soon after. Martyn was DG in 2006. The medals have his name on them as well.
We wish all three winners well for a bright future and hope this won't be the last time Rotary has a positive impact on their lives!
