DILI, 26 november 2021 (TATOLI) – Constantino de Jesus, a student of the Faculty of Law, from Timor Lorosa’e National University (UNTL) win first place of the public speaking competition in Portuguese language, organized by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Culture (MoHESC).
The Director-General of MoHESC, Maria Filomena Lay Guterres said that the two-day public competition (24-25 november) was a great opportunity for students to be on stage and speak to the public.
“All competitors will receive a certificate of appreciation and financial support, but the most important thing is that they have gained experience from this two-day speech competition,” Guterres told reporters at the closing ceremony of the event, at the Fundação Oriente’s Conference Hall, in Dili, today.
She informed that the event will be held annually, calling on students to better prepare themselves to participate in the same competition next year.
Constantino de Jesus, the winner of the competition said he had little time to prepare for the topics of the competition which he had to deliver in Portuguese: “I just put efforts and thinking of gaining experience by delivering my speech on stage.”
“It’s an opportunity to explore knowledge on the topics and improve my public speaking skills. I feel proud to be the first winner of this competition. The most important thing is gaining experience,” he said.
De Jesus said it was difficult to deliver a speech in the Portuguese language on stage: “It challenged me to learn and better my Portuguese skills, one of the two official languages of Timor-Leste, the other one is Tetun.”
According to De Jesus, reading is very important for learning a language: “I call on all young people and students to read books, give public speeches, and learn public debate.”
“Young people need to have curiosity to learn new things through reading, giving speeches, debating, and exploring new knowledge,” he said.
The winner thanked MoHESC for realizing the public speaking competition to commemorate Timor-Leste’s National Higher Education Day.
All competitors, from public and private universities, received certificates of appreciation.
The first winner received US$600, the second winner got US$400, and the third received US$300. The other participants who competed in the competition received US$150 to US$200.
The theme of the public speaking competition was “The challenges and opportunities experienced by higher education during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Three topics were covered in the competition: 1) The use of digital platforms in higher education, 2) The role of higher education institutions in the prevention and mitigation of Covid-19, and 3) The contribution of higher education to the national post-pandemic economy recovery.
MoHESC organized the competition to commemorate World Science Day for Peace and Development, celebrated on december 10th, and the National Day of Higher Education celebrated on december 17th.
The Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Armindo Maia, had earlier stated that many Timorese citizens speak and understand the Portuguese language, especially the younger generation, although they face some challenges.
According to the 2015 Census of the General Directorate of Statistics, 50 percent of the population between the ages of 14 and 24 speak and understand Portuguese.
Journalist: Jesuína Xavier
Editor: Maria Auxiliadora
Translation: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
