FDT Canadian Public Speaking Contest

VANCOUVER, Canada — Canada’s first-ever nation-wide virtual public speaking competition was announced Thursday by FDT Academy, the country’s most successful public-speaking and debating school. It’s an attempt to promote fundraising and discussion around the COVID-19 pandemic, according to FDT Founder Frankie Cena. “It’s easy to feel down about what’s happening in the world right now,” Cena said. “But I want students across the country to share what these times of isolation mean to them, with a positive twist.” FDT has pledged to donate five dollars to Food Banks Canada for every student entry they receive (up to 10,000 dollars) and are offering over 10,000 dollars in cash prizes to top performers. They ask students in grades four to twelve to submit a video recording of a speech, lasting three to five minutes, on the topics: Grade 4-7: “The Heroes of COVID-19” Grade 8-12: “The World After Quarantine” Each entry will receive detailed feedback by an FDT instructor and Finalists will receive free video mentorship. The Finalists will be invited to perform live in front of an esteemed VIP Judging Panel, over the video conferencing application Zoom. FDT students have won numerous local, national and international awards, and consistently represent Canada at the world championships for both debate and public speaking. The school sees itself as fostering a passion for dialogue and the ability to analyze issues from multiple angles — traits invaluable during this time of enormous fear and crisis, Cena said. More information on the competition can be found at http://www.fdtacademy.com/publicspeakingcontest Media enquiries may be sent to frankie@fdtacademy.com