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Media
Press Releases
For immediate release June 2, 2009
$20,000 Scholarships Awarded to Five Canadian Students for Excellence in Public Speaking
Ottawa – Canadian Parents for French (CPF) is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s national Concours d’art oratoire, held at the University of Ottawa on Saturday, May 30.
CPF and the University welcomed 35 students to the nation’s capital on Friday, for the renowned speech contest held every year by CPF. Contestants compete in five categories to win the first-place spot, which grants eligible students a $20,000 scholarship to the University of Ottawa. The national participants come to Ottawa from all across the country, having won already at the school, regional, and finally provincial/territorial levels.
“It is no small feat for these participants to have made it to the national finals,” said CPF president David M. Brennick following Saturday’s competition. “Having come this far is in itself an extraordinary accomplishment, and all the students who competed today deserve recognition for being talented public speakers in French.”
The national competition has five language categories: core French (basic French), core extended, late French immersion, early French immersion, and Francophone. In addition to the five grand prizes of a $20,000 scholarship, the University of Ottawa also offers each of the 35 finalists a $2,000 entrance bursary.
The winners of the core French category are:
1st Place—Suhani Thakore, Burnaby, BC
2nd Place—Carolina Crescenzi, Winnipeg, MB
3rd Place—Kimberly Martin, Gatineau, QC
The winners of the core extended category are:
1st Place—Matthew Blackshaw, Owen Sound, ON
2nd Place—Anja Bielefeld, Port-Aux-Basques, NL
3rd Place—Regina Prost, Yorkton, SK
The winners of the late French immersion category are:
1st Place—Khue-Tu Nguyen, Burnaby, BC
2nd Place—Stephen Spence, Rothesay, NB
3rd Place—Suganya Kandasamy, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC
The winners of the early French immersion category are:
1st Place—Naomi Francis, Delta, BC
2nd Place—Anton Stefani, Rothesay, NB
3rd Place—Joe McGrade, Toronto, ON
The winners of the Francophone category are:
1st Place—Sandra Uwase, Ottawa, ON
2nd Place—Imane Habi, Pierrefonds, QC
3rd Place—Emily Briand, Mainland, NL
CPF acknowledges and thanks the following for their contributions toward the competition: the Government of Canada’s Department of Canadian Heritage, the University of Ottawa, Bank of Montreal Mosaik Mastercard, Voyages Rideau Travel, Radio Enfant-Ado, the Rideau Centre, Cineplex Odeon, and individual donors.
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Canadian Parents for French is the national network of volunteers which values French as an integral part of Canada and which is dedicated to the promotion and creation of French-second-language learning opportunities for young Canadians. There are currently more than 26,000 members across Canada.
Information:
Nicole Chatelain, Communications Officer
Tel: 613.235.1481 x26 Email: nchatelain@cpf.ca