This afternoon a North Bay student in Grade 8 will compete in this year’s Speaker’s Idol finale, discussing a human rights issue important to them and how they envision creating positive change in the world.
Amara Lesanthan, a Grade 8 student from St. Luke Catholic Elementary School will be one of 12 Canadian students competing in the finalist round of Speaker’s Idol, an annual student public-speaking competition hosted by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC).
The year’s competition is being held virtually and will be watched by thousands of Canadian students and community members says a news release.
The competition includes two rounds – the first featuring six students in grades 6-8, the second consisting of six students in grades 9-12 – all of whom speak before a panel of judges who determine the best speech from each round. The finalists were chosen from more than 200 students across Canada who submitted speeches.
This year, the students based their speeches on Holocaust survivor and Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal’s quote, "I believe that there is no other solution than to constantly engage with the past and to learn from it.”
The event will be hosted by television and radio personality Rick Campanelli and judged by lawyer and public policy expert Annamie Paul, litigation lawyer Matthew Gottlieb and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Toni Zhong
