Speech by Professor Lin Zi-yu on behalf of the Organising Committee
The 18th Macao-wide English Speech Contest took place on Saturday-Sunday, 9th-10th November 2019.
The Macao-wide English Speech Contest was established in 2002, its purpose being to promote the use of English in Macao in the era of globalisation, to encourage people from all walks of life to learn English, and to promote English language teaching.
The Contest is organised by the Macao Polytechnic Institute, and co-organised by:
Higher Education Bureau
Education and Youth Affairs Bureau
The British Council (Hong Kong)
Bell Educational Services Ltd., Cambridge (UK)
Macao Daily News
21st Century English Newspapers of China Daily
The Chinese Educators’ Association of Macau
Macau Catholic Schools Association
TDM - Teledifusão de Macau, S.A.
and Macao Youth Federation.
Guests of Honour at the award ceremony included:
Ms. Cen JiaYi, Deputy-Director of the Department of Education and Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region
Prof. Lin Ziyu, Executive Chairman of The 18th Macao-wide English Speech Contest
Mr. Fong Ka Kin, Head of Division of Research and Planning of Higher Education Bureau
Mr. Wong Chang Chi, Director of the Centre of Language of Education and Youth Affairs Bureau
Mr. Lok Pou Wa, Assistant Chief Editor of Macao Daily News
Mr. Chan Chi Kwan, Deputy Chairman of Administrative Board of the Chinese Educators Association of Macau
Mr. Michael Chan, Vice-President of Macao Catholic Schools Association
Mr. João Francisco Pinto, Controller of Portuguese News & Programmes Division
Ms. Elaine Lei, Vice Chairman of Macao Youth Federation
Dr. Mak Ngan Leng, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of City University of Macau
Dr. John Lei, Department of General Education of Macao University of Science and Technology
Dr. Vincent Wang Xian, Department of English of Faculty of Arts and Humanities of University of Macau
Prof. Lily Lim, Programme Coordinator of School of Languages and Translation
Ever since the 4th Macao-wide English Speech Contest in 2005, the Contest has enjoyed a nationwide affiliation with China Daily’s “21st Century” National English Speaking Competition, and many winners of the Macao-wide English Speech Contest have advanced to compete in the national English speaking competition. The opportunity to participate in the national competition has been extended to the winners from each of the Lower Primary, Upper Primary, Junior High School and Senior High School categories and up to 3 winners of the College Category. In recent years, the Contest winners have also been sent to join the finals of the CCTV Cup (now the FLTRP Cup) National English Speaking Contest.
This year’s contest is specially designed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the overall theme of the 18th Macao-wide English Speech Contest being “MY BELOVED MACAO”. Under this theme, the subtopics for the different categories were: “Macao and the Greater Bay Area” (for the College Category), “Macao and the Maritime Silk Road” (for the Senior High School Category), “Macao's Bright Future and Me” (for the Junior High School Category), “Macao: My Beautiful City” for the Upper Primary School Category and “My Favourite Food in Macao” for the Lower Primary School Category. The final round of the Contest included a total of 64 contestants, who were selected from among 148 contestants who participated in the semifinal round on 13th October 2019. The students displayed their English skills and their ability to reflect on the world around them, thus preparing them to serve Macao society in the future.
Each year, the Macao-wide English Speech Contest has adopted a different theme. We look forward to many future contests and more exciting new topics. Congratulations to all the award winners and contestants!
More details about the annual Macao-wide English Speech Contest, including videos of past Contests, can be found on the website: http://speechcontest.ipm.edu.mo/
