Hungary’s representative, Kallai Zoltan, wins through to the semi-final but not the Final
Our representative in London, Kallai Zoltan, does better than any Hungarian has in the past by winning through to the semi finals, the last 18 out of 40,000 participants worldwide. Unfortunately he was unable to win through to the final six though the semi finals were very close.
The eventual winner came from South Korea and the runner up from Mexico with other finalists from Australia, Malaysia and India.
Photo: Simon Ingram-Hill, the UK cultural attache and Head of the British Council, closes the Final in Budapest with presentations to all of the competitors. The British Council presented a special award for the most committed and enthusiastic speaker.
Thanks are due to the British Ambassador, HMA Jonathan Knott, and the Embassy for hosting the event and to Oxford University Press, represented at the event by the former Head of OUP, now retired, Jobbagy Ilona, for their sponsorship of the prizes.
The judges were Edmund Dudley from Pecs, a well known and generous contributor to events in Hungary and elsewhere and Peter Fekete from Inspire Speech, Budapest, who also gave feedback to teachers and students at the conclusion.
The Master of Ceremonies was Willy Benko, a well respected bi-lingual public speaker. Everyone appreciated his summing up address to the competitors and his offer of assistance to all of the speakers. This is the 12th time the event has produced a candidate to travel to the UK and throughout those 12 years Judit Borszeki has been the primary organiser of the competition.
WINNER – Kállai Zoltán – Sárospataki Református Gimnázium
SECOND – Magyar Sandy – Sárospataki Református Gimnázium
THIRD – Szabó Martin – Comenius Általános Iskola és Gimnázium, Székesfehérvár
As usual the standard of sppeches was very high. All of the participants can congratulate themselves on a job well done.
Other Participants:
Wolf Martin – Vörösmarty Gimnázium, Budapest
Juhai Bence – Leövey Klára Gimnázium és Szakközépiskola, Budapest
Koncsik Marcell – Verseghy Ferenc Gimnázium, Szolnok
Goncsarenko Miléna – Bolyai János Gyakorló Általános Iskola és Gimnázium, Szombathely
Szente Nikolette – Hunfalvy János Külkereskedelmi, Közgazdasági Szakközépiskola, Budapest
Medgyessy Zsófia – Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem, Piliscsaba
Simon Júlia – Baár-Madas Gimnázium, Budapest
Nagy Sebestyén – III. Béla Gimnázium, Baja
Berta Viktória – Kürt Alapítványi Gimnázium, Budapest
Németh Márk – Révai Miklós Gimnázium, Gyõr
Remeli Mina – Városmajori Gimnázium, Budapest
Szakáts Liza – Arany János Gimnázium, Nyíregyháza
Nyárádi Balázs – Budapesti Fazekas Mihály Általános Iskola és Gimnázium
The Junior Competition – 14 and 15 years
The junior competition was for those who were too young to enter the main competition. This gives an opportunity for younger speakers to practise in front of an audience with feedback in a competition situation.
The standard of the speeches was very high, at a similar level to the speeches in the senior section and bodes well for the future of the competition. The seven participants were:
Katalyn Nicole Petro de Chalendar – Városmajori Gimnázium, Budapest
Szaplonczay Eufémia – Szent Imre Gimnázium, Nyíregyháza
Nenezic Patrick – Baár-Madas Gimnázium, Budapest
Nguyen Thuy An – ELTE Radnóti Miklós Gimnázium, Budapest
Pál Gergely – PTE Babits Gimnázium, Pécs
Pélyi Zsófia – Verseghy Ferenc Gimnázium, Szolnok
Für Viola – Budapesti Fazekas Mihály Általános Iskola és Gimnázium
Guest Speaker – 12 years
Ekler-Szabó Botond Alexander from Életfa Általános és Alapfokú Mûvészetoktatási Iskola, Keszthely gave a wonderful speech with recorder illustrations which the audience really appreciated. This is a talented young speaker and artist and a name to remember.