RICHARD Ishmael Secondary School emerged triumphant at the finals of the Fourth Annual Inter-Secondary Impromptu Speech Competition held on Tuesday at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Ltd (GBTI) Recreational Centre, Bel Air Park.
The final leg of the competition hosted annually by GBTI featured President’s College against Richard Ishmael Secondary School.
Present at the event was Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony who presented the winners with their trophies.
It was a close encounter as the winning team emerged just six points ahead with 664 points to 658 points attained by President’s College.
Participants at the event were judged on content, delivery, language and use of time and the judges included Ms. Abiola Inniss, Mr. Sheik Sadiq and Dr. Joyce Jonas.
Manager of GBTI’s  Regent Street branch, Ms. Bibi Wharton, said the competition has been developed to contribute to  the development of youths in a positive way and  GBTI  looks forward to hosting it again next year.
The students were allotted one minute to formulate their speech after viewing their topics and were not allowed to make notes or jottings of any kind. Representatives of Richard Ishmael included Lewins Langellier, Suella Forde and Loreal Burberry while the rival team mates included Christina Richardson, Juanita Beejaimal and Vonette Peters of President’s College. Burberry was awarded the best speaker of the event, her chosen topic was Littering.
Other topics covered at the finals ranged from Cruelty to Animals to Climate Change. Addressing this at the end of the contest, chief judge Mrs. Joyce Jonas, of the Department of Language and Cultural Studies at the University of Guyana, expressed the desire to see more originality and widening of horizons as it relates to the content of the speeches. It was also the collective opinion of the judges that added attention needs to be paid to language, further stating that the use of vernacular is not encouraged. Dr. Jonas, however, applauded the teachers’ efforts in preparing the students. She said “it was entertaining overall”.
Apart from the competition itself, there was an Excellent Speaker face off. Four persons were chosen from schools that did not make it into the final leg of the competition. The students chosen were Nyamekeye Griffith, Bishops High, Nadine Lewis, School of the Nations, Esther Osborne, St. Joseph High and Ashmini Singh from Mae’s Secondary School. The award went to Nadine Lewis for her fluent delivery of her topic, ‘Children learn what they live with.’
Dr. Anthony applauded the participants for having the courage to deliver their speeches; he said “it’s a challenging thing,” adding “young people are the leaders of tomorrow and communication is important.” He highlighted the need to demonstrate leadership ability and to motivate people as leaders through communication. He also said he sees great potential and is pleased to be a part of the competition.
The minister also mentioned his collaboration with GBTI on a special exhibit at the National Museum, showcasing a replica of a giant sloth, stating that the exhibit contributed to an increase in patrons going to the museum from 25 persons daily to over 200 with double the amount on weekends.  He said “it was a tremendous thing.”
Sixteen schools participated in this year’s Inter Secondary School Impromptu Speech competition hosted by GBTI.