Congratulations, Nicol!
A Malaysian student just made us proud on an international pedestal after she won an English speaking competition which was held in Hangzhou, China over the weekend.
NST wrote that Nicol Yong Jia Jia was named the champion of the Belt and Road Youth English Speaking Competition and the China Daily ’21st Century Cup’ International English Speaking Competition. Meanwhile, Chen Qiyu from China bagged the second place in the competition. Congrats!
FYI, the finale which was held in Hangzhou International Expo Centre saw 31 contestants from about 30 countries and regions.
If you didn’t know, the competition’s sole purpose is to help youngsters from different backgrounds to understand other countries and cultures better. That’s nice!
Adding on, the competition was a joint effort by China Daily, Hangzhou Municipal Government and the English-Speaking Union (ESU). During the competition, there were themes for prepared speeches for the contestants and the themes are as mentioned below:
- Let Us Be True To One Another
- The Great Truth Is Simple
Those are very interesting themes, don’t you think?
According to the organisers, the themes were meant to inspire the contestants to share their opinions on a “shared future”. Besides that, it was also aimed at encouraging communication via competitions and “exchanges in response to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)”, which was recommended by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013.
Well, we are ecstatic that Nicol managed to win the competition and beat contestants from other countries. We wish her all the best for her future endeavours and we hope she will bring more pride to the country. Malaysia boleh!
Also read: These M’sian Uni Students Won A Culinology Competition & Beat Teams from USA & Canada!