On January 24, 2014, the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Section organized its annual speech contest in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.at the American Corner of the Lao-American College in Vientiane. This year’s topic was “What’s your dream?” Contestants were asked to speak for 3-5 minutes in English on their personal dreams and their dreams for the future of their country.
The contest was designed to help the students sharpen their public speaking skills and become more comfortable speaking in front of an audience. There were more than 28 contestants from different high schools, colleges and universities in Vientiane, with more than 80 of their peers in the audience cheering them on.
The speeches were judged by the Embassy’s Assistant Public Affairs Officer, Ken Kosakowski, the Embassy’s General Services Officer, Graham Harlow, and English Teaching Assistant Austin Travis who teaches at the National University of Laos. All participants received gifts from Embassy and the three top contestants also received cash awards.
