Sabh wins at ActionAid speech writing event
DUNDALK student comes out on top in ActionAid Speech Writing Competition Final
Sadbh Boylan a student at St Vincent’s Secondary School in Dundalk and Juliette O’Donnell,a student at Coláiste Éinde in Galway, have been announced as winners of the national ActionAid Speech Writing Competition 2018.
The Final was held in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin where nine finalists emphatically delivered their speeches in front of a panel of judges including Hans Zomer (Head of Communications to the President of Ireland), Winifred Ikhine Akinyemi (Irish Aid), Rodney Rice (former RTE Broadcaster and ActionAid Chair) and Moira Leydon (Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland).
The speeches were judged on delivery, writing skills and understanding of the topic. The two winning students clearly demonstrated their enthusiasm towards human rights in a superb display of research, critical thinking and originality.
Sadbh was delighted with the win commenting, “I am really excited and surprised to win the competition! I didn’t know much about the Sustainable Development Goals before but I did a lot of research and now recognise the importance of overseas development aid, and understand how it can bring us closer to reaching sustainable development.”
The two winning students scooped the coveted first prize, a trip to Brussels in June accompanied by their teachers and ActionAid.
There they will meet with members of the European Parliament, organisations active on women’s rights, youth and development. The visit will give students a taste of advocating for a fairer world at a European level and inspire them to advocate for change with their peers and in their communities in Ireland.
‘ This is the fourth Speech Writing Final and again I am truly impressed and inspired by the standard of speech writing and delivery. All the young people displayed excellent knowledge and understanding of the importance of championing women’s rights across the globe. Congratulations to Sadbh and Juliette, who had the edge in terms of their understanding of the issues and application to the project,’ said Siobhán McGee, Chief Executive of Action Aid Ireland.
The Finalists had seen of competition from over 130 entries, aged 14 to 17, from over 40 schools across the countries, to reach the Final. The speech topics were based on one of three topics relating to women’s rights and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).