The Grand Finale of the 19th edition of Qatar Open Youth Public Speaking Contest conducted by Qatar Toastmasters Club was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Doha. A packed audience comprising of members from Toastmasters fraternity, contestants, family members, teachers and well wishers were in attendance to hear the ten finalists mesmerize the audience with their oratory.
Qatar Toastmasters Club President, Toastmaster Krishnamoorthy opened the event and welcomed the audience which included the Chief Guest Mr. Khalifa Saleh Al Haroon, CEO - Haroon United Group and founder of iloveqatar.net / ILQ Network and the Guest of Honor - past Director of Toastmasters International, Distinguished Toastmaster George Thomas, the visionary leader who started Qatar Open Youth Public Speaking Championship, way back in 1997. The Chief Coordinator of Qatar Open 2016 Toastmaster Azeez Mohammed opened the contest by explaining the contest rules and invited contestants to present their speeches.
Qatar Open is a public-speaking contest open to all young adults of Qatar in the age group of 13 to 18 years. 181 students from 23 schools participated in the preliminary round. 45 participants qualified for the semifinal round of which the top 10 made it to the finale. The preliminary and semi-finals rounds were held at the Birla Public School.
The 10 contestants who made it to the finale were Ghanem Al Kebesi , Aashiya Anitha Shaji, Dhivyashri Ramesh, Carol Joseph Ayathil, Dany Sunish, John Tomy, Sumaya Adam, Sai Prajwal Shandilya, Supprasanna Sivaprakash and Sheikha Hamed Sharbak. The reigning champion Reuben Suju Varghese announced this year's winner Supprasanna Sivaprakash, who’s winning speech 'Meow' was hilarious and at the same time had a beautiful message. Second place went to Aashiya Anitha Shaji and third place winner was Dhivyashri Ramesh. Winners received trophies, certificates and cash prizes. All finalists received trophies, certificates and gift hampers.
The highlight of the day was the wonderful and thought provoking keynote speech by the widely followed youth icon and prominent entrepreneur with many accolades to his credit, Mr. Khalifa Saleh Al Haroon, who inspired the audience with a call to follow your convictions no matter what and success will eventually follow.
Among the dignitaries present were Toastmasters Division Q Director Distinguished Toastmaster Raghavan Menon, Division E Director TM Ravi Kumar, Area 18 Director TM Surya Narayanan, Speaker’s Bureau Chairman TM Virendranath, Past Division Director DTM Rajeshwar Sundareshan among others. The judging panel of senior Toastmasters was led by the Assistant Division Director TM Thayalan.
Qatar Open 2016 was supported by Tanween Properties, ApplusVelosi, Qatar UAE Exchange, Teyseer Group, Qbake and Dandy as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility initiative and managed by Trans Media International as the event and branding solutions partner.
Qatar Toastmasters Club, the organizers of Qatar Open Youth Public Speaking Championship, is affiliated to Toastmasters International, the leading US-based organization dedicated to creating effective leaders and communicators worldwide. The club meets on the first and third Sundays of every month at the Radisson Blu Hotel. The Toastmasters mission is to empower people to find the courage to change, achieve their full potential, and ultimately share in the mission of contributing to the betterment of society.
To know more about Qatar Toastmasters Club, visit http://www.qatartoastmasters.net
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