‘The Icon’ by ChokoLAATe was a public speaking competition organised to provide a platform for the youth of Sri Lanka to speak on the country’s present and future and share fresh perspectives, resulting in ideas that can spark change in society.
The competition was conducted for students aged 15-19 from all schools around the island. Upon registration, participants were given the opportunity to attend two workshops on ‘Impromptu and Prepared Speech,’ which helped them prepare for the competition. The Impromptu Speech workshop was done by Sulaiman Rameez and the Prepared Speech Workshop was done by Mariam Zaheer.
The competition consisted of three rounds: Preliminary round mainly focusing on prepared speech style; semifinals focusing on impromptu speech style; and finals focusing on both styles. The first round took place on 14 August, where 100+ participants took part and displayed their public speaking skills through topics such as ‘Poverty is a State of Mind’, ‘Uniforms Stifle Individuality’ and ‘Do Introverts Make Good Leaders?’. 40 Participants were then selected for the Semi Finals which took place on the 21st of August. This round focused on the Impromptu Speech Style where contestants spoke on topics such as ‘social media makes the society less happy, ‘the pandemic lockdowns are not meant to be productive’, ‘Environmental destruction is still not taken seriously ‘and more.
10 competitors progressed to the finals from the semifinals which was held on the 23rd of October at the Hatch Auditorium. Mr. Hussain Moosajee, Ms. Bernadine Jayasinghe and Mr. Ravindu Amendra graced the event as judges. After an intense round of competition, Anuk Ranaweera from Gateway College emerged as the champion of ICON 2021 with Sandalee Uduwana of Vidura College and Yumna Afroze of St. Paul’s Girls School being placed as first runner up and second runner up respectively.
Chokolaate is immensely grateful to its sponsors, namely gold sponsor UCL, silver sponsor AIBS institute, supporting partner CIMA, official system partner Hatch, outreach partner Interact District 3220 and gift sponsors the Social Colombo, Tie Dye by Lil, Pillow Talk, Crepe Runner, Wok to Box, Rose Bistro, Magical Desserts and Hyve Dessert Bad for supporting this event and being a great part of its success.
There will be more events of this calibre organised in the future to cater to the youth and provide them with the exposure they need to sharpen their skills and indulge in new experiences which challenge themselves to do their best!
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