Bandar Seri Begawan - The final of the second Information Department and BELTA (Brunei English Language Teachers Association) Oratory Competition 2008 took place yesterday at the Manggis Ballroom of Hua Ho Manggis Mall.
Present as chief guest was the Deputy Minister at Prime Minister‘s Office, Dato Seri Paduka Hj Eusof Agaki Hj Ismail.
A joint project between the Information Department and BELTA, among the objectives of the competition are to inculcate the love for the monarch, religion and country among the younger generations through oratory competition and to train them, particularly school students, to be able to deliver speeches in public.
In the welcoming remarks by Acting Director of Information Department, Awg Hj Mahrub Hj Murni, he noted that the competition, among other things, served to celebrate and showcase the benefits of public speaking, as well as to inform, educate, entertain, persuade and provide opportunities for upper secondary students to experience public speaking and appreciate the responsibilities associated with presenting to a large audience.
The co-organising of the project, which started last year, has proved to be a meaningful one and got off to a flying start.
"We were pleased to note that during the early round, most participants did well and displayed better confidence level in sending their message across through the topics of their own choice."
Invited panel of judges comprised a blend of experts in the related fields and were looking into aspects such as delivery, structure, voice control, projection and ideas presented by the participants in their speeches.
The acting director further highlighted that he hoped the competition will provide a lesson on the important ingredients of preparing and delivering a speech and these include practical experience on how to develop information needed, the art of capturing the audience, how to add examples, anecdotes, statistics and analogies that will make the talk meaningful, how to use body language or when and how to use humour or to wind up the talk to assure that the points have been made, will be remembered and acted upon.
"All this boils down to having a strong mind and a strong will, consistent practice and the ability to conquer or overcome negative emotions, such as fear."
This year saw 32 secondary schools and colleges partaking in the competition.
From the 32, eight schools and colleges qualified for the finals and brought about oratory speeches on national issues related to this year‘s National Day theme.
Each of the eight participants - representing Chung Hwa Middle School, St George‘s School, YSHHB Secondary School, Chung Hua Middle School, Sayyidina Ali Secondary School, Chung Ching Middle School, Muda Hashim Secondary School and Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College - were given six minutes to deliver their respective speeches.
Emerging as the champion was Ak Md Fadhil Pg Hj Ali of Chung Hwa Middle School, walking away with the trophy contributed by Minister of Education Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Lela Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Abd Rahman Dato Setia Hj Mohd Taib, as well as cash prize, certificate and books contributed by British Council - the main sponsor - and The MacMillan UK.
"It is the hoped that this competition will become a platform for all students who wish to sharpen their oratory skills, particularly in the English language."
Source: www.brunei-online.com (30 April 2008)
