Youth Speaks

Young people in Guernsey are preparing to debate a hot topic of their choice in the annual Rotary Club of Guernsey Youth Speaks competition, which will be held at St James in January.

The event, which is sponsored by Mourant Ozannes, is open to all island secondary school students who can enter the Intermediate category for 14 – 16 year olds, or the Senior category for 16 to 18 year olds.

Each team consists of a Chairman, Speaker and Proposer of a vote of thanks. They have a fixed amount of time in which to present their case and then face questioning from a member of the panel of judges, with a fixed time in which to respond. If competitors exceed their allotted time on any section, penalty points are deducted from their team score.

The winners go forward to the regional finals, held in the UK and can make it all the way to the Rotary Club of Great Britain and Ireland Youth Speaks national final, as a team from Guernsey Grammar succeeded in doing in 2014.

The panel of three judges will be headed up by Mourant Ozannes Guernsey Managing Partner Jessica Roland. The law firm has sponsored the competition for 12 successive years and as well as providing a number of trophies for the local competition and covering the costs of competing in the UK, members of staff have provided additional support by visiting local schools and mentoring competitors.

Simon Milsted of Rotary Club of Guernsey said, “We are extremely grateful to Mourant Ozannes for their ongoing support for this event, and especially for the way in which the whole firm really engages with the initiative and the competitors, giving up a considerable amount of time and expertise to help make it a genuinely valuable experience for all.”

Advocate Jessica Roland added, “We are proud to have sponsored the Rotary Club of Guernsey Youth Speaks competition for 12 years. This is an excellent opportunity for local young people to display their debating skills and the level of entries in previous years has been extremely high. An ability to present cogent arguments about often complex subjects is a very valuable skill in today’s competitive workplace and this event helps prepare Guernsey’s young people for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for them.”

The 2017 Youth Speaks Competition will be held on 24 January 2017, with trophies, certificates and a gift bag presented to competitors by Robert Shepherd of Mourant Ozannes. Last year’s event was won by a team from La Mare de Carteret Secondary School, who triumphed over four other schools.