Pinoy student wins int’l public speaking contest in London

Sixteen-year-old Gian Dapul, an incoming senior at the Philippine Science High School, won the English Speaking Union’s International Public Speaking Competition held in London last Friday.

He bested 57 other contestants representing 35 countries with his delivery of a five-minute speech on the theme “New Frontiers.”

In his speech titled “Fish Mucus and Foot Fungus,” Dapul cited recent scientific finds and expressed his desire to help his country by joining the avant-garde army of science researchers discovering new ways to enhance health and extend life spans.

Dapul became the official Philippine representative by winning the local contest for 16- to 19-year-old students held at UP Diliman a few weeks ago.

As in the past several years, it was organized by the English Speaking Union-Philippines chapter currently headed by former Ambassador to the United Kingdom Cesar Bautista, Ateneo’s Humanities dean Dr. Marlu Vilches, and UP professor and Philippine STAR columnist Butch Dalisay.

The Philippine STAR Arts & Culture columnist Alfred Yuson chaired the judges’ panel composed of ESU-Phil officers and previous Philippine representatives to the competition, including Patricia Evangelista who first brought honor to the country by topping the 2004 edition of the contest.

Dapul’s trip to London was sponsored by Pilipinas Shell under its country manager Ed Chua, an ESU-Phil board member, and was facilitated by the British Council Manila.

Gian was named one of 12 finalists after the preliminary heats held at Dartmouth House, ESU International’s headquarters.

The finals were in turn conducted at the American Embassy at Grosvenor Square, with Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St. James Edgardo Espiritu in attendance, together with Loline Reed, a Filipino officer of the Overseas Women’s Club who has helped the young Filipino contestants since 2002.

As the very first speaker, Gian led off the highly competitive Heat 1 with 14 other participants from the US, UK, the Netherlands, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Pakistan and China.

In the finals held later in the day, he competed against representatives, mostly college students, from Thailand, Poland, Bulgaria, Argentina, Lebanon, and China. This time he was the last speaker.

Gian reportedly impressed the judges and audience with his relaxed and humorous delivery of a substantive speech with a clear message.

Placing second was a young lady from Thailand who spoke on the need to avoid pre-marital sex, while the third-placer, from Bulgaria, promoted the use of bicycles instead of cars.

Reed recounted that the chairman of the judges for the finals, Peter Kyle, the chief executive of the Shakespeare Globe Trust, acknowledged that Gian “impressed everyone with his speech, which from the start got the audience’s attention.”

The other judges were Dame Mary Richardson DBE, who set up the HSBC Global Education Trust, and Tony Byrne, special adviser to major cultural organizations in the UK.

Reed added: “Not only did Gian speak very well, but his replies to questions from the floor were succinct and quite scholarly. One question asked of him was, ‘What does he think of the ethics of stem cell research?’ He obviously knew what to say, which should make his school proud, as he evidently knows his Science subjects, indeed!”

In November, Gian will be presented with a certificate at the ESU Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace by His Royal Highness, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Most likely, the Queen herself will be present as well, since the English Speaking Union marks its 90th anniversary this year. –The Philippine Star