ICC-One has been conducting this event for the past 15 years as a token of its “social commitment towards promoting public speaking in Qatar”, it said in a press statement.
In the Adults inspirational speech segment, Joseph Amande was crowned the champion for his speech titled ‘Stand tall’. He inspired the audience to accept themselves and not let others pull them down.
Second-place winner Anupama Kasibhatla reminded the audience through her speech – ‘Behind the scenes’ – that in life, the people who support from the backstage need to be recognised as much as the performers on the mainstage of life.
In her speech ‘Redirections’, third-place winner Nisha Shivram motivated the audience to accept rejections in life as redirections to better opportunities.
The Adults humorous speech champion was Chandrashekhar Dudhe, who gave hilarious anecdotes on stress during contests. Second-place winner Rajini Naren spoke humorously on her dark complexion, while third-place winner Sheik A K Malik joked about his wife’s cooking skills. The Juniors speech contests showcased confident teenagers with vibrant oratory skills, the statement noted.
In the humorous speech contest, Alfredo R Sanchez III, representing Philippine School Doha, was the champion for his speech ‘My Asian mom’, wherein he spoke about his mother’s disciplining techniques. Second-place winner Sara George represented Zeal Gavel Club and spoke on the topic, ‘Dare to be different’, while third-place winner Lisa Eliz Mathew, representing American School of Doha, spoke on the topic ‘Genius by mistake’, wherein she gave hilarious accounts of her mistakes.
In the Juniors inspirational speech contest, the champion’s trophy went to Helmin Jinoz representing the ICC Eves Gavel Club. In his speech titled, ‘Kick it down’, he exhorted the audience to nurture a childlike curiosity within themselves, while second-place winner Saanvi Sudesh represented Birla Public School Gavel Club and the theme of her speech was ‘Life may be hard, but we are better off than many others’. The third place went to Leah Susan Mathew, who represented American School of Doha and spoke on facing fears. Participation in the Adults category is open to all residents above 18 years of age while in the Juniors category, all schools and gavel clubs are invited to send one participant each in both categories. Eliminations are conducted one month prior to the finale and six finalists vie for the champion’s trophy.
At a glittering prize distribution ceremony, trophies and prizes were given away by CK Krishnan from Doha Bank, Batool Alasker of Abu Issa Holding, Virendra Agarwal of IYC World Soft Infrastructure, Shivesh Choudhary of Ultimate Trading & Contracting, CA Suresh of AlMirqab Facilities Management and Sonny Varghese and Rajeswar Sundaresan of the Toastmasters.
There was a complimentary lucky draw for all attendees followed by dinner.