The podium is yours

Elizabeth Joseph
Ernesto De Jesus

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, various plans were still in full swing at Namib High School. One of these events was the annual senior public speaking competition, which took place at the Hanjo Böhlke School Aula during school hours.

The school’s initiative was in collaboration with Toastmasters International, a global organisation that helps to enhance an individual’s public speaking and communication capabilities while in the same breath building leadership skills.

The organisation sent three representatives, one of them being Elrie Pieterse (who happens to be the president of the organisation), to make up the judging panel.

Furthermore, the competition consisted of nine finalists from the grades 10, 11, and 12 with three learners from each grade representing their grade. Each speaker was judged according to their content; preparation and organisation; use of language (including appropriateness and correctness); delivery; and overall effect.

Scooping bronze was Loide Asino, a tenth-grader and first-time competitor. Asino’s energetic speech was titled ‘Dreams and Fears’. The enthusiastic young speaker’s overview of the prestigious event is that it was wonderful, but really frightening at the same time.

Renella Mathews, a 12th-grader, was in second place with her charismatic speech titled ‘Shine Your Light’. She describes her experience at the competition as amazing, ground-shaking, and one that can’t be replaced.

Pronounced as the best senior public speaker was Ernesto de Jesus, an 11th-grader, who gave a powerful speech with the title ‘The Secret to Success’. De Jesus feels that the competition was a memorable accomplishment to look back on.

The three winners qualified to represent their school at the Namibian inter-school public speaking competition, scheduled to take place at Windhoek Gymnasium Private School in the second trimester of this year.

The judges invited all the speakers that took part in the competition and everyone else interested to take part in the 2020 World Speech Day, which was scheduled for 16 March 2020.