Indonesian Student Wins English Speech Competition in Japan

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An Indonesian student at the Republic of Indonesia School in Tokyo (SRIT) Najwa Rahman Rustam won an award at the Meguro English Speech Test 2023 with "The Best Delivery Prize".

The Education and Culture Attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo Yusli Wardiatno expressed his appreciation and pride toward the student's achievement. According to him, this has proven the ability of Indonesian students when compared to Japanese students.

"In addition to student quality, what needs to be emphasized with this achievement and this program is the cross-cultural understanding between Indonesia and Japan," he said on Sunday.

The Principal of SRIT Ari Driyaningsih stated that she was proud of SRIT students's achievements in the competition since the students went through a significantly tough initial internal selection.

At the same event, a Council Member of Meguro City Kanako Kobayashi hoped that the competition could become a platform to nurture friendships between students, schools, and nations.

"Hopefully, this [competition] is a gateway to future collaborative programs," Kobayashi said.

Three judges, Kiichi Sugawara (teacher), Gerald Escalante (educator), and Maryam Al-Kubati (researcher), awarded Najwa with "The Best Delivery Prize" for speech delivery with the theme of "Attitude: A Game Changer".

Najwa, the judges said, was capable and effective in combining gestures and speech while speaking about the importance of building and maintaining positive attitudes.

The seventh-grade student invited the audience to appreciate their uniqueness, strengths, and weaknesses and avoid comparing themselves to others.

"A positive attitude is a secret recipe that could change a difficult situation into a blessing," Najwa said.

Meguro English Speech Contest 2023 is an annual program by the Meguro City Council and Meguro Education Agency in cooperation with the Indonesian Agency and SRIT.

This year, the speech contest was participated by middle school students across Meguro, Tokyo.

ANTARA

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