Can you shake the world in a gentle way? Of course it is an impossible task for a single person, but you can use a few mighty things; you’re ideas, your words, and your voice.
The Gavel Club of the University of Kelaniya, affiliated to Toastmasters International, USA, brought prestige to Sri Lanka by becoming the first Gavel Club in South Asia.
Established in 2004, the main purpose of the Gavel Club is to help its members to improve their communication and leadership skills. The club creates effective communicators by providing its members instructions, educational material and opportunities that arm them with skills and experience in the preparation and delivery of speeches. The club also organizes various events to develop leadership skills of members in the University of Kelaniya as well as undergraduates of other universities and the school community.
Unleash Yourself Phase VII organized by Gavel Club of University of Kelaniya in collaboration with the Career Guidance Unit of the University of Kelaniya is a special event offered to the school community of Sri Lanka. It is organized with the aim of promoting the art of public speaking within the school community.
Unleash Yourself Phase VII consists of two branches. The first is the Inter School Best Speaker Contest 2018 organized for students of Colombo, Gampaha, Kelaniya and Negombo educational zones. The second is the School Workshop Series under which four workshops will be conducted in different locations around the country.
Since 2013, Unleash Yourself has created the platform for public speaking within the school community in Sri Lanka. This year, Unleash Yourself is organized for the seventh consecutive time while the Inter School Best Speaker Contest is held for the 4th year.
Inter School Best Speaker Contest 2018 will be held in two categories: junior and senior. The competitors will be given the opportunity to show their talents in prepared speeches and impromptu speeches. After the preliminary and semifinal rounds, 10 competitors (5 juniors and 5 seniors) will be selected to compete at the grand final round on May 16. The final round will be held at the University of Kelaniya premises with the participation of industry specialists, Toastmasters, university lecturers, undergraduates, parents and school children. There will be a panel of judges consisting of prominent Toastmasters to select the winners. The titles of Best Speaker, Best Prepared Speaker, and Best Impromptu Speaker will be awarded for both junior and senior categories.
Unleash Yourself VI in 2017 was a successful chapter of the program thatcreated remarkable opportunities for the school community. From among the 120 contestants in the preliminary and the semifinal rounds, 10 finalists, 5 juniors and 5 seniors, were selected. The Grand Finale was held on May 3, 2017 at the Commerce and Management Faculty Auditorium of the University of Kelaniya attracting the attention of the business community, sponsors, guests, university lecturers, Toastmasters, students, and parents. The contest crowned two talented young individuals as the Best Speaker. Rosara Dayarathna of Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya was crowned as the Best Speaker in the junior category while Suneragiri Liyanage of Royal College was crowned as the Best Speaker in the senior category.
The University of Kelaniya Gavel Club offers great opportunities to improve the public speaking skills of the school community through their workshop series. The first school workshop was conducted at Hillwood College, Kandy, with the participation of over 100 students. The second workshop was conducted at St. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, along with a joint educational meeting. The third and fourth workshops were organized for the winners of the ISBSC 2017, namely Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya, Colombo and Royal College, Colombo. The workshops were comprehensive, action based programs designed to create awareness on the importance of public speaking, and essential tips to be effective communicators and leaders, and how to combat fear of public speaking.
The Gavel Club, University of Kelaniya offers these opportunities to provide a platform for students in schools to exhibit their talents in public speaking and leadership and improve their communication skills of English language. Moreover, school students are encouraged to step forward, battle the fear of stage, participate in new experiences and develop their leadership skills for their future.
To experience this magnanimous opportunity, apply now to grab the Inter School Best speaker 2018 trophy and the opportunity to show your talent to the world. Contact us through your English teacher or email us at [email protected]. Find us on our Facebook pages “Unleash Yourself - University of Kelaniya”and “Gavel Club - University of Kelaniya.”
Piyumi Weerarathne
University of Kelaniya Gavel Club
“If you can speak, you can influence…
If you can influence you can change lives”
– Rob Brown
Public speaking is the art of expressing your dreams to the world. The Inter School Best Speaker contest creates good speakers who can influence the world to create a better future. ISBSC is a very unique and exciting experience for all young public speakers. It is also a valuable chance for us to share our experiences and dreams with the world. In short, ISBSC is a stimulus which pumps the power of words through your heart into the arteries and veins and then powers them out of your mouth to touch the heart of another.
As students we practice public speaking; generally speaking in a classroom or the school hall. Yet, the dream to speak upon a grand stage lies in our mind. Just as the small streams make up a huge river, ISBSC gives young speakers every experience that is needed to become a good public speaker.
My victories at this speech competition lie not only in the trophies and certificates, but the everlasting experiences I gained. From preliminaries to semifinals and then to finals is a beautiful journey. You will show your talents, enjoy the reactions of the audience and most of all correct your mistakes. The Gavel club even organizes programs along with the competition to give speaking tips to its participants. This is very valuable to us for then we can improvise, recreate and renew our speeches with better quality for the next stage. I have learnt thousands of new ways to touch the hearts of the audience from the experiences I gained.
My fellow sisters and brothers don’t worry if you feel nervous, for even the best speakers are nervous in the first few moments of their speeches. Yet, the organizers of the competition do everything to make you feel at home. They warmly welcome you to the Gavel family and provide moral support and guidance throughout the competition. In my book of life, ISBSC is a golden chapter; one that I will never forget. The words I said on that stage are still remembered by my friends. In the same way your voice too will be remembered forever. Do come… Enjoy the beautiful experiences of ISBSC. In the end I’m sure you will have friendships and memories that last a lifetime…
S. A. Sajani Jayathma Senanayake,
Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo
First runner up (senior category) – 2017