USJ successfully held “The 2nd Macao-wide English Poetry Writing and Recital Contest”
USJ successfully held “The 2nd Macao-wide English Poetry Writing and Recital Contest”
23
Apr
23/04/2023
The University of Saint Joseph has successfully organised and held “The 2nd Macao-wide English Writing and Recital Contest”, attracting over 700 submissions from 37 schools and universities.
The University of Saint Joseph Macao (USJ) has successfully organised “The 2nd Macao-wide English Writing and Recital Contest”, with the final round of the contest and awarding ceremony held in the morning of Saturday, 22nd of April, 2023, at the Auditório Centenário de Fátima in USJ Ilha Verde Campus.
The event was co-organised by the Macao Youth Greater Bay Area Development Association, sponsored by Macao Foundation and supported by The Macau Post Daily, and Macau Cable Television Company Limited (MCTV).
The Macao-wide Contest aims to promote English language literacy and foster creativity among the local youth through poetry. It is open to all public or private elementary, secondary, and university students across the region. With this year’s theme set as “A Pocketful of Effervescence in the Greater Bay Area”, USJ received over 700 submissions from 37 schools and universities, with only 40 original poetries selected to enter the recital contest, including 15 in the Elementary school category, 15 in the Secondary category and 10 in the University category. All poems pivoted around the topics of “Sights and Flavours”, “Blended Cultures”, “A Walk Down Memory Lane” within the theme.
The participants had to memorise and recite their works before a carefully selected judging panel. A total of 9 cash prizes worth $19,000 patacas were given to the champion, first runner-up, and second runner-up of each category. Winners also received hotel accommodation vouchers sponsored by the Macao Youth Greater Bay Area Development Association.
The judging panel consists of the Rector of USJ Rev. Prof. Stephen Morgan, Director of English Centre of USJ (USJ ELC) Prof. Duncan Miers, Senior Instructor from the English Language Centre of the University of Macao (UM) Prof. Joshua Lee, Lecturer of Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) Prof. Douglas Philips Jeremy, Assistant Lecturer of Centre for Applied English Studies of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) Prof. Wesley McLaughlin, Vice president of Macao Youth Greater Bay Area Development Association Mr. Emil Marques, Director of The Macau Post Daily Mr. Harald Brüning, and Senior Lecturer of USJ ELC Candy Siu.
All the submitted written works were evaluated based on their relevance, creativity and originality, coherence of form and structure, and clarity of imagery and language. Lastly, the finalists were evaluated based on stage presence and presentation, poise and spontaneity of recitation, intonation and poetic expression, and clarity of spoken words and diction during the recitation contest.
Director of the English Center of USJ Prof. Duncan Miers commented that there has been a tremendous response to the 2nd Macao-wide English Poetry Writing and Recital Contest. “This year’s Contest has been a tremendous success and we are grateful for our sponsors that made this happen again this year. We congratulate all the finalists for all their effort and for giving us the pleasure to listen to their recitations today. Regarding the contest, after preliminary screening approximately 300 poems were left to be evaluated for their written compositions and recitals by two panels of eight judges. Overall, there has been a marked improvement in the poems, across the board with some outstanding compositions among them. It is clear that this year’s theme “A pocketful of Effervescence in the Greater Bay Area has brought together a diverse range of glimpses into the collective memories of the contestants who have expressed their own perspectives of what gives rise to their passion for their home towns and other places within the Greater Bay Area of China. While everyone of the finalists is a winner, it gives us great pleasure to congratulate the prize winners as being truly deserving of every accolade. For the others, we hope we can see you again next year.”
The theme for next year’s contest will be “Macao – the garden of life” and the subcategories are: “Beauty in the eye of the beholder”, “Wisdom of the ages”, and “Emotions running over”.
The winners of the “The 2nd Macao-wide English Poetry Writing and Recital Contest 2023” are:
Elementary Category
- Champion: Chan Ay Ren, Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School
- First Runner-Up: Francois Lei de Vera, The Primary School of Kao Yip Middle School (International Section)
- Second Runner-Up: Lei Meng Chi, Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School
Secondary Category
- Champion: Matilde Neves dos Santos Augusto, Colégio Diocesano São José 6
- First Runner-Up: Chan Ay Drial, Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School
- Second Runner-Up: Chan Hei Wai, Macau Anglican College
University Category
- Champion: Alexandre Lebel, University of Saint Joseph
- First Runner-Up: Yuan Nuochen, City University of Macau
- Second Runner-Up: Chiang Guo Judy, City University of Macau
Primary Category Winners:
Champion: Chan Ay Ren, Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School
First Runner-Up: Francois Lei de Vera, The Primary School of Kao Yip Middle School (International Section)
Second Runner-Up: Lei Meng Chi, Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School
Secondary Category Winners:
Champion: Matilde Neves dos Santos Augusto, Colégio Diocesano São José 6
First Runner-Up: Chan Ay Drial, Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School
Second Runner-Up: Chan Hei Wai, Macau Anglican College
University Category Winners:
Champion: Alexandre Lebel, University of Saint Joseph
First Runner-Up: Yuan Nuochen, City University of Macau
Second Runner-Up: Chiang Guo Judy, City University of Macau
Sponsors:
(From left to right: Managing Director of Macau Post Daily Mr. Edmund Wong, USJ Rector Prof. Stephen Morgan, President of Macao Youth Greater Bay Area Development Association Mr. Lai Ming San)
Group Photo with all the Finalists:
