Upara Cooray of Lyceum International and Rishane Dassanayake of CIS win Young Speaker 2016
Showcasing some exemplary public speaking skills across a range of subjects, Upara Cooray of Lyceum International won the Senior Division at the Grand Finale of the annual Young Speaker Contest organised by the British School in Colombo and Adventus Education. Held for the third year in succession, Rishane Dassanayake of CIS won the Junior Division where a total of five finalists were chosen to display their rhetorical talents, similar to the five finalists in the Senior Division. Under the aegis of the Deputy British High Commissioner Laura Davies, the ten young speakers demonstrated extraordinary confidence in their presentation skills, while also rising very well to the occasion in the impromptu round where the judges presented a topic for them to speak on.
On the theme, ‘Speakers of Today, Leaders Tomorrow, Young Speaker 2016 had a wide representation of nineteen national and international schools, with the ten finalists demonstrating immense aptitude and quality command of the language. The finalists in the Senior Division were Ruqaiyah Shiraz from Gateway College Colombo, Sumini Siyambalapitiya from The British School in Colombo, Vidhi Chand from Asian International School, Upara Cooray from Lyceum International Panadura and Miriam Alphonsus from Methodist College. In the Junior Division, the finalists were Rishane Dassanayake from Colombo International School, Maleeka Hassan from Gateway College Dehiwala, Fathima Sahlah Anees from Methodist College, Lakkitha Wijayaratne from Royal Institute Nugegoda and Zenab Zoeb of Burhani Serendib School.
Judged on a set of criteria to measure intellectual thinking and positive expression in communicating skills, the contestants were judged initially in four Preliminary Rounds leading to the Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and the Grand Finale. The finalists were expected to exhibit their strengths in speech and formulation of reasoned arguments through two rounds comprising a prepared speech and an impromptu speech.
Congratulating those who had reached the finals, the Chief Guest said, “Speaking in public is an important skill. Our professional, public and even private lives are all about transmitting information and exchanging ideas. Often that will involve addressing an audience, either large or small.” Addressing the competitors at the conclusion of the judging process, Chairman of the Panel of Judges Attorney-at-law Mohamed Adamally commended both Adventus Education and The British School in Colombo for recognizing the increasing importance of effective communication as a paramount soft skill in every sphere of activity. The panel of judges comprised Group Director, The Capital Maharaja Organisation Shan Weerasekera, Head of Sustainable Development, Communications and External Affairs of Holcim (Lanka) Limited Farzana Khan, Enterprise Marketing Manager – South East Asia New Markets of Microsoft Thilanka Abeywardene and CEO Courtalds Sri Lanka Michael Massey.
Adventus Education is managed and operated by a group of visionary international education professionals offering unprecedented access to world-class universities and colleges, excelling in student placements in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand, with a partner network of over 220 universities and colleges both locally and internationally. One of the leading international school in the sub-continent, The British School in Colombo has an excellent reputation for providing an outstanding and thriving holistic education augmented by a stimulating learning environment that develops outstanding young people. Sponsors of the event are DeVry University, USA, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia and Sarawak, California State University Monterey Bay, University of Tasmania, Australia, Thompson Rivers University, Canada and Deakin University, Australia.