Students from across the province participate in French public speaking contest - Canadian Parents for French

STUDENTS FROM SYDNEY TO YARMOUTH COMPETE AT PROVINCIAL FRENCH PUBLIC SPEAKING CONTEST

Students from across the province participate in French public speaking contest

Halifax. May 8^th, 2023: Over eighty French second and first-language students in grades 5-12 competed in the provincial Concours d’art oratoire, Canada’s French public speaking contest this past weekend. The event took place at Mount Saint-Vincent University. This year marks the 39^th year of the annual provincial French public speaking competition. The Concours d’art oratoire began in Nova Scotia in 1983. It has been an annual event ever since, missing only one year in 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

Canadian Parents for French (CPF), Nova Scotia President Kate Ashley welcomed the participating students at the opening ceremony. A representative from the YMCA Summer Work Exchange spoke to the students about opportunities to participate in a French speaking exchange program before the students headed to the classrooms. The Conseil jeunesse provincial de la Nouvelle-Écosse (CJP) also spoke with students during the registration period about the CJP programming and activities open to Francophones and Francophiles youth.

After presenting their speeches, students, families and teachers enjoyed a toe tapping concert with Mary Beth Carty. Mary Beth’s second solo album, Crossing the Causeway, fuses traditional song, instrumental tunes, and original songs to create a multilingual tour-de-force that reflects the diverse yet unified roots of her region. Mary Beth was joined by Cape Breton fiddler Jacques Mindreau, as well as one of the young contestants, Jules Béland-Simard. Jules approached Mary Beth during sound check and asked if he could try her guitar. The audience was treated to an impromptu last song with Mary Beth, Jacques and Jules.

CPF Nova Scotia would like to thank the many volunteers who made this event possible. This event attracts bilingual volunteers from the Francophone community, local universities and high schools.

Students from grades 5 to 12 received medals and prizes. The winners in grade 11/12 also receive scholarships to Université Sainte-Anne and Université de Moncton. The 1^st place grade 11/12 winners of the provincial competition now move on to the national competition. The national competition will be held virtually again this year. The winners of the National Concours d’art oratoire will be announced June 16, 2023 on the Canadian Parents for French website, www.cpf.ca

Sponsorship for this event was received from: Nova Scotia Education and Early Childhood Development, Université Sainte-Anne, Université de Moncton, Mount Saint Vincent University and Canadian Heritage. With the continuing support of our sponsors and volunteers, Canadian Parents for French, Nova Scotia is able to organize and present the provincial Concours d’art oratoire.

The complete list of provincial Concours d’art oratoire winners can be found at ns.cpf.ca. Photos will be posted on the CPF Nova Scotia Facebook page as well as ns.cpf.ca.

Félicitations à tous nos lauréats!