Students bring local stories to global governance speech contest

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Stories of village tourism, coffee beans and neighborhood support took center stage as 16 students from 11 universities competed in a multilingual speech contest at Shanghai International Studies University on September 11.

The inaugural contest, focused on global governance and future leaders, held its final at the university's Hongkou campus, SISU said. Contestants spoke in English, Spanish or French, then answered questions from specialists in their chosen language.

Contestants deliver their speeches. (Photo: Shanghai International Studies University)

The competition encouraged accounts drawn from personal experience or fieldwork on how local communities address residents' needs. Topics ranged from rural development to digital services in China and Kazakhstan, community mutual aid in Shanghai and dispute resolution.

Judges assessed content, language and delivery. Three contestants received first prizes, four second prizes, six third prizes and three merit awards.

The Global South Academic Forum, East China Normal University and SISU jointly organized the event, with SISU's Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation and School of Journalism and Communication handling its delivery.