from Ronald D F D’Souza & Joe Andrade
for Daijiworld Media Network - Bahrain
Bahrain, May 2: In the recently-concluded all-Bahrain Youth International Speech Contest held for the Toastmasters Gaveliers and Youth Leadership Programme attendees during the Bahrain Toastmasters annual conference, Shamir Joseph and Helissa D'Souza bagged the top laurels.
They secured the first and third places respectively from among seven of the best who reached the finals held recently at Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIEC). In April, the grueling elimination rounds of the youth contest were held which show-cased the oratory talents of nearly 40 students from a cross section of the Bahrain society.
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Shamir Joseph spoke on 'Lend Me Your Ears' and Hellisa D’Souza on 'Humour in Life.' One other speaker, Dean Pereira, who was also selected for the finals did well to speak on 'Keep Walking.' All the three were attendees of the Youth Leadership Programme conducted by the Karnataka Club Toastmasters under the guidance of T M Rufus Pinto for Karnataka Social Club members' children in February. Seven of the best participants at the YLP were hand-picked for the YISC contest rounds.
The contest was organized by the BTAC-2008 as per Toastmasters International guidelines. Toastmasters awards were presented to the two youngsters at a programme by Jehad bin Hassan Bukamal, minister of information, under whose patronage the BTAC-2008 was held at the august BIEC, in the presence of BTAC-2008 organizers and well-wishers.
In the same contest for toastmasters, MTM Jothi Ruben, winner of the Table Topics and Speech Evaluation Contest in the Area Contest, vied for honours in the finals and romped home with the 2nd place at the Table Topics Contest conducted for district 79 of Toastmasters International member clubs, divisions C & K.
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In the same contest, three of the toastmaster members were among the organizers assigned with specific roles or tasks:
TM Prakash Shetty – as Sergeant-at-arms.
TM Rufus Pinto – as contest chair for the Speech Evaluation Contest
TM Joe Andrade – as chief judge for the Speech Evaluation Contest.
BTAC-2008 was a two-day all-Bahrain affair organized by the Toastmasters in Bahrain under the guidelines of Toastmasters International, Inc.
Karnataka Club Toastmasters was founded in October 2001 and is affiliated to Toastmasters International Inc operating under the auspices of Karnataka Social Club, Bahrain.