English Speaking Union

In Lebanon, the first competition was held in 2000 at the British Council. Subsequent competitions have been held at the USJ (Universite St Joseph), the LAU (Lebanese American University) and Haigazian College. The themes have been as follows: Money makes the world go round - 2000 Internet, Information, Ideology - 2001 Ecology and Economy - 2002 A Borderless World - 2004 The winners in our local competitions were: Suzanne Morgane and Rana Haidar (Beirut Arab University) - 2000 Nadine Fata (AUB) and Leila Aghacy (LAU) - 2001 Maya Madi (USJ) and Pia Zeinoun (NDU); the latter rose to international fame when she came in second at the 2002 International Final in London and was mentioned in a Time Magazine article (June 9,2002) that praised the work of the ESU in Lebanon. Nayla Habr (NDU) and Lauraine Eid (Balamand)- 2003 The 2005 theme is Differences and Diversities and the final will take place at Notre Dame University in Zouk on Saturday, April 9, 2005. Ms Nayiri Baboudjian, whose email address is: nayiri.baboudjian@balamand.edu.lb, will be the coordinator of our Public Speaking Competition in Lebanon.