(Getting the award – better quality photos to come. Pic cred: My mum)

My participation in the QCEC Awarding Ceremony

I participated in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition a few months ago and wrote a speech I would make as a Head of Government during the last CHOGM meeting. The prompt I chose for my essay was to discuss an important aspect that the Commonwealth should focus on in the future to achieve its goal of a prosperous future for all.

I decided to evaluate how global education is a requisite in achieving this goal, and how pre-existing initiatives may be improved in order to further provide adequate education for the global youth.

When I was writing this essay, I decided to discuss the way constant power cuts were a hindrance to many students across Sri Lanka – and this was a personal aspect of my speech that I found to be quite powerful.

Sometime after submitting this essay, I was notified that I won a Gold Finalist Award for the senior category! I was ecstatic, as according to QCEC, they received a record-breaking 26,300 entries this year – to attain the highest award after the final winners were amazing.

Recently, the British Council held a special awarding ceremony for the QCEC. I was quite nervous when I got there, as I was surrounded by several serious-looking students in school uniforms – QCEC winners from the silver awardees until the gold finalists! Sarah Hulton OBE, the current and former presidents of the Commonwealth, and “Orlando from Florida” were guests of honor.

Something to be noted during this event is that while we waited until everything was finalised, the speakers played the audio recording of my essay! It was certainly very strange to hear my own voice through the booming speakers…

I was one of the two gold finalists present at the ceremony, thus, was the last person to receive my award. I admit I was quite impatient for my moment on stage – until finally, it was all over in a flash of cameras!

(Giving the speech. Pic cred: My mum)

Afterward, there was a call for students that would like to share their experiences with a speech. Of course, I shared my experience of finding solace in writing and hoping to continue that in the future, and the consequent impact that this had on my life. I wanted to keep my speech short, as there were refreshments waiting outside!

Overall, it was a bit of a tiring day, but quite a rewarding event.

Learning outcomes:

• LO4 – Working collaboratively with others
  • Prior to the event, I worked with some of the administrators of this awarding ceremony to create audio recordings of my essay. This would facilitate the distribution of my writing and allow for it to be more accessible for potential future participants of QCEC.

• LO6 – Global engagement
  • My essay was in the form of a speech that focused on the importance of furthering educational development in order to support youth in becoming global citizens. I had to do some research on the initiatives already existing and funded by the Commonwealth to develop education and address certain areas of improvement for it. 
  • As a firm advocate for education, I think that engaging with the global issue of educational disparity allowed me to thrive. Raising awareness in a mock-CHOGM style let me further my knowledge and interact with initiatives to improve academic quality worldwide.