KUCHING: Empowering Voices 2025, an event which will celebrate the art of communication will be held at the Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus on Saturday (April 12).
The event promises a full day of engaging activities designed to highlight the power of public speaking and effective communication.
It is organised by the 13 Toastmasters Clubs under Division D (Kuching) in collaboration with SMK Batu Lintang, and supported by Swinburne University as venue sponsor.
Division D Director of Toastmasters International, Dr Lucy Ho, said the event will offer something for everyone, from aspiring speakers to curious learners.
“An excellent opportunity for the public, especially secondary school students and their parents, to explore the campus and learn about the university’s academic programmes and state-of-the-art facilities,” she said.
The event will start at 8am with a guided tour of the Swinburne Kuching campus.
This will be followed by a Bahasa Malaysia Workshop on Emceeing and Public Speaking at 8:45am, led by experienced emcees Abg Jalani Abg Mazadi and Sarmandi Nawi.
At 10am, the Bahasa Malaysia Speech Contest (Pidato) will take centre stage, followed by a Mandarin Speech Showcase featuring three top champions at 11am.
Meanwhile, the English-language contests will take place in the afternoon starting at 1pm, where the Evaluation Contest will lead the session, followed by the Table Topics (Impromptu Speech) Contest and the International Speech Contest.
Among the contestants in the Bahasa Malaysia Pidato category are Haady Gordon (Utama Toastmasters Club), Asnol Khairulzakry Ainie (AZAM Young Souls Speakers Club), Abdul Al Azim Ismail (AZAM Toastmasters Club), Toh Chee Leong (Kuching Bilingual Advanced Toastmasters Club), and Pei Mee Tian (Kuching Elite Toastmasters Club).
The Mandarin Showcase will feature Kuan Jia Yi (Padawan Foochow Association Toastmasters Club), Phang Soon Choi (Kuching Progressive Toastmasters Club), and Sharon Lim Pei Ting (Kuching Bilingual Advanced Toastmasters Club).
Competing in the English Evaluation Contest are Jason Teo (AZAM Toastmasters Club), Jonathan Huong (Kuching Toastmasters Club), Stanley Gona (Utama Toastmasters Club), and Jiventran (Dynamic Toastmasters Club).
The Table Topics Contest includes Jason Teo, Chok Siong See (Kuching Toastmasters Club), Stanley Gona, and John Lau (Utama Toastmasters Club).
In the International Speech Contest, Jason Teo, Rezuan Abd Rashid (AZAM Toastmasters Club), John Lau, and Stanley Gona will compete for the top spot.
Winners in each language category will go on to represent Division D (Kuching) at the Toastmasters International District 87 Speech Contests in Bandung, Indonesia, scheduled for May 16-18.
Admission to Empowering Voices 2025 is free, but registration is required at https://tinyurl.com/empvoices2025.
For more information, contact Dr Lucy Ho at 016 858 6166 or Division D Public Relations Officer Stanley Gona Chee Khiong at 012 886 5138.
