Unexpected Voices Speech Competition Canada

Power of Words Academy in collaboration with World Speech Day and the British Council has an exciting opportunity for schools across Canada to participate in. We would like your students to articulate their thoughts, ideas and concerns about one of the UN’s Sustainability Goals. Information about the Unexpected Voices Speech Competition is detailed below.

Overview of Competition

World Speech Day takes place on April 13, 2025, and our speech competition is about reaching out to students across Canada. In particular, we are looking for new ideas on the UN's Sustainability Development Goals.

The Competition aims to:

• Increase the knowledge of the UN Sustainability Development Goals amongst students and their teachers

• Improve the students’ writing and speaking skills

• Increase awareness of World Speech Day

Information about the Competition

• Teachers / students submit speeches by entering the information into the online form. The deadline for submission is January 31, 2025. 

• The theme of the speech must be on one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development goals.

• The speech must be written in English. 

• The maximum word limit of the speeches is:

• 300 words for the 7-8 and 9-10 age categories.

• 500 words for the 11-12 and 13-14 age categories.

• Entry to the Competition is free of charge. 

• The Round 1 Competition winners will be notified by email on February 15, 2025. In this notification, Power of Words Academy will inform the winners of the venue, date and time of Round 2, where the selected participants will present their speeches before a panel of judges. The winners of each age category will be invited to perform their speeches on World Speech Day (April 13, 2025) at York Woods Theatre in Toronto.

• All participating schools / students will receive certificates. The three finalists from each age category will receive monetary and non-monetary prizes (specific information regarding same is on our website). 

For more information about the competition, visit our website at https://www.powerofwordsacademy.ca/contests-2025.