Riviera, Petit Séminaire Nyundo win debate competition

Isaac Manzi from Riviera High School and Emmanuel Mwemezi Safina from Petit Séminaire de Nyundo Saint Pie X yesterday emerged winners in the National Public Speaking Competition grand finale held at Green Hills Academy yesterday.Manzi emerged the best public speaker in the English language category while Mwemezi took the French title.The two students out-competed other finalists from 12 schools in Rubavu, Huye and Kigali Districts to the coveted title in a competition organised by Never Again Rwanda (NAR), a youth-focused human rights and peace-building organization. “I am very excited to have won this competition because it wasn’t an easy task. But I put in a lot of effort,” Manzi told The Sunday Times.“Public speaking is very important for young people because it prepares us to be the future leaders”.He encouraged other young people to always go for the best and never give up.The competition that started last month was organised under the theme “Civil courage during War and Genocide” where students were required to explain their ideas on how to prevent divisionism among Rwandans.“This has given me confidence; I am now able to address a gathering of people without trembling in front of them, “asserted Mwemezi.He stated that through the competition he was able to carry out enough research on how genocide and divisionism can be prevented.According to Albert Nzamukwereka, NAR’s Executive Director, the 12 schools that participated at the grand finale emerged the best in the preliminaries.“We were looking for how the speakers explain their ideas well, on how people can fight against divisionism among themselves. Manzi and Mwemezi explained their points well and are good public speakers,” he said.“We came up with this theme because we are about to commemorate the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi next month.”Nzamukwereka urged students to always take part in public speaking competitions because it polishes their speaking skills.