2021 National Speech Competition Ended Successfully

The 26^th National Oratory Speech Competition was successfully hosted yesterday at the St Barnabas Cathedral Hall.

The theme for this year’s speech competition is “Nurturing future leaders to become better speakers of the English Language.”

A total of 24 schools participated in the competition that coincided with this year’s World Literacy Day which falls on 8th September annually.

Leaba Karovo of St Nicholas Primary won the 1^st place for the Junior Category, Cliera Bird of Goldie College won the 1^st place for the intermediate category while Shannon Sogavare of Betikama Adventist College was announced the overall winner of the competition by claiming the 1^st prize for the Senior Category.

Leaba Karovo presented his speech on the topic “Not all waste is waste” demonstrating the proper use of the three “Rs” Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. The Grade 5 student said he is grateful to be the winner for that category.

“My father and cousin used to prepare buckets for disposing of waste and we reduce, reuse and recycle them so I got the idea for my speech from there, and my mother helped me to be brave in speaking publicly so I am grateful for my parents for their support. I feel so happy as it is my first time to join such a competition,” Karovo said.

Cliera Bird who travelled from the Western Province to Honiara for the competition did her speech on social media on modern day technology under the theme “Not all that glitters is gold”. She emphasized on how she as a teenager sees the benefits of social media for the young generation and the negative impacts that comes with it.

Speaking to SIBC News, the Form 3 student thanked her family and classmates for their support saying she is grateful for the opportunity to represent her school.

“I was nervous coming into the competition, and I wasn’t sure I would win as all the speeches were well presented so I was shocked by the results but so happy to have represented my school and hope that taking back the trophy, they would be proud of me as well,” Cliera said.

Head of English Department Goldie College Constance Bennett who accompanied Ms Bird to the competition said she is proud of her student’s achievement.

“We find English difficult in the province as English is not their first language, but we try to help them through the skill of speaking in English. But I am so proud of Cliera for winning today. This is a contribution from her English teacher, her family, the continuous help from our school and her hard work so I am proud to say that this is a team achievement,” Mrs Bennett said.

The national winner and overall winner of the competition Shannon Sogavare shared her speech under the theme “To Lead is to Serve”, emphasizing on the role of leaders in the government sector of the country. Ms. Sogavare told SIBC News that she is happy to have won and represented her school.

“The idea for my topic was through the help of my teachers and my dad who gave me some information and has been my biggest supporter. I have joined speech competitions in the past, but this has been the most challenging one as everyone did extremely well. So, I am proud of this achievement, and I encourage students to participate in such competitions although English is not our first language, we all have potential,” Ms Sogavare said.

The competition was sponsored by Solomon Islands Ports Authority (SIPA) and the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI).

Below are the Winners: 

Junior Category

1^st Leaba Karovo- St Nicholas Primary

2^nd Tangi Mangama- Kukum SDA Primary

3^rd Brenan Sevala- Perch Christian School

Intermediate Category

1^st Cliera Bird- Goldie College

2^nd Rose S. Campul- Waimapuru

3^rd Niola Moli- Bishop Norman Palmer CHS

Senior Category

1^st Shannon Sogavare- Betikama Adventist College

2^nd Arythia Oli- Selwyn College

3^rd  -Wilma Inok- King George Sixth NSS  & Annette Rore- Kukudu Adventist College

By Eliza Kukutu