Six finalists are preparing to compete in the finals of the Lions Club Saint Vincent South National Public Speaking Competition this week.

The finals are scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 22, at the Methodist Church Hall in Kingstown, beginning at 7:00 p.m.

President of the Lions Club Saint Vincent South, Lion Michael John, provided details of the competition during a news conference recently hosted by the Independence Planning Committee.

Mr. John stated: "As you will know by now, this Public Speaking Competition is a national competition and this year is our 27th year of hosting the competition. Two weeks ago, we held our preliminaries, which were done in four zones and we had a total of 18 schools taking part in the competition, and I think that was commendable from the schools, the Ministry of Education, and the students themselves. From those 18 schools, the judges selected six schools to take part in the finals, which will be held on October 22nd, 2026, at the Methodist Church Hall from 7:00 p.m."

Mr. John confirmed the names of the finalists who will be vying for the Lion Michael DeFreitas Challenge Trophy.

He added: "We have Jinya Pemberton of the Saint Vincent Girls' High School, we have Jolisha Bailey from Saint Joseph's Convent Marriaqua, we have Tishon Ollivierre from Saint Vincent Grammar School, Rachel Mitchell from Canouan Secondary School, Vonté Horne from Emmanuel High School Mespotamina, and Diandra Spepherd from Thomas Saunders Secondary School. I must say here, for a very long time, we did not have a student from the Grenadines entering the finals and I think it is commendable for Canouan. We all know what they went through, and to come and be in the finals, I think it is a remarkable achievement for them."

The students will speak on the topic: 'Globally, Countries are Slow in Formulating the Appropriate Framework to Leverage AI Capability to Improve Productivity.'

The Public Speaking Competition is being held in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and sponsored by telecommunications company Flow.

SOURCE: National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC Radio)