Chennai: A total of 120 students from several colleges in and around the city turned orators at the Speak For India district-level contests on Friday.A CSR initiative of Federal Bank Hormis Memorial Foundation, organised in collaboration with The Times of India, the event aims to encourage students to voice their opinions on social and contemporary issues and help them emerge as future changemakers.Seventeen students were shortlisted for the zonal rounds from Friday’s event. The event attracted several first-timers as well as experienced public speakers, who thanked the sponsors for providing an opportunity to showcase their skills. Students from various disciplines, including arts and science, engineering, management, mass communication, commerce and biotechnology, participated in the contest.Sharing his experience, C Tamilselvan from Government Arts and Science College, RK Nagar, said that the platform was a stepping stone for his aspirations to become a public speaker. “I have participated in several public speaking events and Tamil debates. I have spoken for a political party in my free time too. My aim is to become a great speaker, and such events encourage students like me,” he said. This was his second attempt to ace the contest.N Divya from Meenakshi College of Occupational Therapy, Virugambakkam, said the contest was a new experience for her. “Though I have participated in several debates, this is the first time that I am speaking at an event where the topic is given just 10 mins beforehand. It was challenging and fun,” she added.Students were allowed to debate in Tamil and English. All participants from the district level onwards will get certificates of participation. The winner will get a cash prize of ₹2.5 lakh and the runner-up, ₹1.5 lakh. The six finalists will each get ₹50,000.Registrations for Speak for India – Tamil Nadu Edition remain open, offering college students an opportunity to be part of this prominent inter-collegiate debating platform. Interested students can register and find further details at www.speakforindia.co or by scanning the event QR code.
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