Doha: Competition always brings out the best talents! The Grand Finale of the 12th ICC ONE Communication Championships 2015 held on 27th November at the Radisson Blu Hotel was a fiery show of talent.
Organized by ICC ONE TOASTMASTERS consistently for the past 12 years, the ICC ONE Communication Championships is a nationwide contest conducted to nurture public speaking talents. Contests are held in 3 categories – the ‘Schools & Gavels Club’ speech contest featuring contestants of age 12-18 years, the Humorous and International speech contests for participants of age 18 years and above. This year, over 100 participants competed in the preliminary rounds. 6 finalists in each of the adult’s contests and 9 in the junior’s contests showcased their brilliant speaking talents in the Grand Finale.
In the international Speech Contest category, Joseph Amande was crowned the Champion with his speech ‘Less is More’. He exhorted the audience to be minimalistic in life and focus on collecting experiences rather than material things. The 1st runner up was Deepak Shivankar with speech title ‘Your life is not for you’. He stressed on the need to acquire the best things in life because only prosperity can be shared, not poverty. The 2nd runner up trophy went to Sameer Hassan Moosa with speech title ‘Tomorrow, I already know you will be brighter’. He gave a touching account of how his father’s words had been a beacon of light in his life’s darkest moments and urged the audience to never ever lose hope. The Audience Popular Poll was won by Sameer Hassan Moosa. The other finalists were Sebastian Mascarenhas, Shanmugha Sundaram, & Edgar Santos and the contest was chaired by Eman Mohamed Ismail.
The ‘Schools and Gavels Club’ contest had 9 finalists this year. The Champion was Sumaya Adam Abdi from Shantiniketan Indian School, speaking on the topic ‘A moment can change everything’. She encouraged the audience to give importance to relationships because life can change in a split second. The 2nd place winner, Mahnoor Shahid representing Pakistan Education Centre, spoke on – ‘A rare smile’ and her message was – Words of appreciation can make people smile. The third place winner was Reuben Suju Varghese from KEF Gavel Club with speech title ‘The Race’. He said that – In life, everyone runs the race but only the true champions go ahead and finish the race despite all odds. The Audience popular pick also was Sumaya Adam Abdi. The other finalists were Aashiya Shaji, Fathima Jamal, Rohit Chari, Manahil Shawl, Salma Ahmed and Thea Paje and the contest was chaired by Suhanida Gani.
The Humorous Speech contest conducted by contest chair Johnny Abou Zeid was the most entertaining part of the evening. The Champion Sebastian Mascarenhas narrated hilarious stammering mishaps under the title ‘Free to Speak’. The second prize winner was Chandrasekhar Angadi. His speech ‘Love is painful’ comically described the battering he had to undergo during his courtship days. The third prize winner Sheik Kader humorously described his journey to Mecca in an old run down car under the topic ‘The Thirsty Radiator’. The Audience Popular Poll also was won by Sebastian Mascarenhas. The other participants were Ashfaque Deshmukh, Singa Raju and Surendra Kumar.
The Master of Ceremonies for the event was Omar Fayyad and the Chief Judge was Gil Bangalan. The prizes were distributed by Chief Guest Dr R Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank and dignitaries Krishnan C K., Head – Corporate & Commercial Banking, Doha Bank and James Joseph, Assistant General Manager of Gulf Times.
The winners received Trophies, Gifts and cash awards. The audience enjoyed the complimentary Lucky Draw were 10 prizes were drawn. The evening culminated with a sumptuous dinner where vegetarians were well taken care off. All present had only words of praise for the Contestants and Organizers.