Ottawa, June 16, 2023— Canadian Parents for French is delighted to announce the 15 winners of the 2023 national finals of Concours d’art oratoire, Canada’s public speaking contest.
A total of 28 students from seven provinces and territories were eligible to participate in the national finals taking place virtually. First place winners from each provincial or territorial competition submitted an original video speech to compete among students from across the country in one of five categories: Core French, Extended Core, Late and Early Immersion and Francophone. This year students delivered speeches on climate change, women’s rights, linguistic security, immigration, among others.
“Congratulations to the winners of Concours d’art oratoire. Every year we continue to be amazed with the students’ efforts and dedication and this year was no exception. We truly believe this is a great opportunity for French as a second language students. Besides showcasing their public speaking abilities in French, students put into practice other valuable skills that will certainly help them in the future. We also congratulate all students that made it to the national finals, you are among Canada’s brightest students,” said Nicole Thibault, CPF Network CEO.
CPF would also like to thank the jury of 16 expert judges from partner organizations including, the Embassy of France in Canada, the City of Ottawa, the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques, TFO, the Association of Colleges and Universities of the Canadian Francophonie, among others. They evaluated the video submissions to reach the selection of the 15 winners.
Winners will receive a cash prize and are eligible for a scholarship from CPF’s partner post-secondary institutions: University of Ottawa (ON), Université Saint-Boniface (MB), Université de Moncton (NB), Université Sainte-Anne (NS) and Campus Saint-Jean – University of Alberta (AB).
Additionally, the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques is offering a $500 cash prize to one participant, randomly selected from among all participants, to recognize students’ efforts to learn and use French.
To watch the winners’ videos, visit: https://cpf.ca/en/concours-dart-oratoire-2023/.
The 15 winners of the 2023 CPF National Concours d’art oratoire are:
Level 1 – Core French
First place: Dhruv Mehta (British Columbia)
Second place: Sunny Wu (Ontario)
Third place: Gagan Sahota (Manitoba)
Level 2 – Core Extended/Enriched/Advanced French
First place: Victoria Mnatsakanyan (Ontario)
Second place: Seraphina Anand (Saskatchewan)
Third place: Kamran Asim (Nova Scotia)
Level 3 – Late French Immersion
First place: Shreyanshi Vala (British Columbia)
Second place: Asem Khattab (Nova Scotia)
Third place: Abigail Chau (Manitoba)
Level 4 – Early French Immersion
First place: Claire Zhong (British Columbia)
Second place: Kanto Ratsimandresy (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Third place: Luke Martin (Ontario)
Level 5 – Francophone
First place: Léonie Christelle Lado Nguedam (Ontario)
Second place: Yvan Karam (Nova Scotia)
Third place: Xyza LaRochelle (Manitoba)
The winner of the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques $500 randomly selected gift prize is: Chiara Bramante (Quebec).
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Canadian Parents for French is the national network of volunteers which values French as an integral part of Canada and which furthers bilingualism by creating and promoting French-second-language learning opportunities for young Canadians.
For more information, please contact:
Marcos Salaiza, Communications Manager
Tel: 613.235.1481 x222 Email: msalaiza@cpf.ca
