International Students Public Speaking Competition

Every ending is a new beginning

The Northcote High School International Student Public Speaking competition started in 2015 and is primarily a showcase for the incredible skills of our International students. It is also an opportunity for them to meet and inspire international students from other schools. This year students spoke on the topic 'Every ending is a new beginning' with speakers from Northcote competing with students from Doncaster Secondary College, Viewbank College, Bendigo Senior Secondary College and Melbourne Girls College.

Here we have extracts from the speeches by our Northcote students, and also the Competition's winning speech.

Yizan Li (Yarina), Northcote Year 12

"This is the beginning of my speech and also the ending of the last speech. And at the end of my speech will be the beginning of the next speech. And round and round it goes. Just like the topic says, ‘Every Ending Is A New Beginning’. And is something we can see in daily life. Each generation succeeds the generation that comes before. Nothing is more natural than the natural cycle of life.

Since the end of 2019, Covid-19 has invaded our human world. The peaceful decades have been put on hold and disaster has shaped our lives. But human beings around the world are working hard to combat this virus. Vaccines are being rolled out in many countries and scientists in their laboratories are the true heroes (along with front line health care workers) in hospitals because of their hard work to protect the public from the virus. According to epidemiologists, when we reach herd immunity we can go back to normal life (I can’t wait) and then Covid will just be like a common cold or the flu. And so when we have all been vaccinated, the whole world can go back to the old life but it won’t be entirely the same. We will have better science and better technology, particularly in micro-biology and medical-biology. We will have a new understanding of the need for good ventilation and when we hear someone cough or sneeze we will probably look for our mask. Just like the topic for this competition says, every ending is a new beginning, as one world comes to an end a new world begins."

Ruirui (Cici) Wang, Northcote Year 11

"Many international students choose to come to Australia in order to study and start their dream life here. This is because they assume Australia can satisfy most parts of their dream life. I am not an exception to this; I chose to come to Australia, because there are beaches, nice restaurants and, most important of all, students here do not face too much pressure about their studies.

However, since the COVID outbreak, my whole perception of this perfect, Australia has been shattered Because this awesome country suddenly became a prison and I can’t go home. I totally understand that closing the border is the best way to protect Australia in order to reduce the number of new cases, however, this is not the only way to do it.

For example, Australia could ease its border policies and give some priorities to other countries, especially those countries which send a lot of international students to Australia. Many of these students are vaccinated and now the Australian recognises Sinovac. So these students should be allowed to come here.

This brings me to my next point, reopening the border will allow families separated by border restrictions to meet in person. For example. there is an old Chinese couple who have been stuck in Australia. ‘We do not want to stay here anymore, we just came to travel for a month, but for now, this country’s border policy has trapped us here just like we are in prison. We miss our son and our friends in China.’ Just simple words, but it shows how much sorrow they feel."

The winning speech was presented by Doncaster Secondary College student Shin Thant (Berry) EAIN, (Year 10).

"Imagine you have lost all the privileges afforded to you for being in this country. Imagine being under 24-hour surveillance, having no financial support, no internet connection, no access to education, and living in constant fear of losing someone you love every single day. What would you do? Well, this is exactly what the Burmese people including my close friends and families are facing right now, at this moment, but it’s a horror many around the world, including in Australia, are unaware of.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I am a representative of Doncaster Secondary College for the International Student Public Speaking Competition 2021. Earlier this year on the first of February, Myanmar fell to the corruption of the Burmese military and since, has been trapped in a state of emergency. Every single day, civilians of Myanmar including young children are forced to suffer unimaginable human rights violations such as brutal murders, rapes, and illegal custodies. I want to talk to you all about this, for two main reasons, firstly, because awareness is critical for change. Secondly, because I want to talk about the power of hope and the human spirit, in the face of such horrors.

Rather than giving in to the terrible situation, the Burmese people view this as an opportunity to fight against dictatorship and gain back the democracy that their country truly deserves. They are moving forward with a spark of hope that there are far better things ahead for them than what they are leaving behind. They consider that the sufferings they experience at the present time, will be worth it if they can achieve a better future. Witnessing such positivity and drive is so inspirational at a time like this in our global history, where so many people are struggling to make choices that are in the best interest of the whole community.

In Myanmar, some endings are easier to accept than others, some stories have torn my heart apart. Like, when I hear of the heroes that risked and sacrificed their lives for an oppressed nation, I feel both empowered and saddened. This civil war story is not brought up to solely exemplify how critical it is to look out for the future during adversity, but to reiterate the ideology of optimism, so that we don’t wake up in the morning and fixate on what we lost yesterday but reflect on what we have learnt and make tomorrow a better day.

My message to everyone here today is that every ending, no matter how much suffering is disguised, is always a door for new opportunities. Life presents us with certain challenges and obstacles. It tests us with hurdles to overcome in order to make progress as human beings, but what we must never forget throughout our hardship is that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. My name is Berry and I believe that every ending is a new beginning."

We look forward to doing it all again next year but in the meantime we would like to thank our judges,

Belinda McGee (assistant principal Doncaster Secondary College)
Siobhan Marsh (Senior Project Officer, International Education Division)
Connie Clarke (School Support Officer, International Education Division)

Martin Ramsay and Grant Tucker

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