Students to Debate New Port and More in Public Speaking Competition from Oct 7

A photograph of winners of the 2024 competition with sponsors and Lions as provided by the Lions Club St. Vincent South.

By S. Browne. Updated 12:21 p.m., Tuesday, September 30, 2025, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

Secondary schools across St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) will debate topics such as the recently constructed port and other national matters at the annual Lions Club St. Vincent South/FLOW National Secondary Schools Public Speaking Competition, beginning October 7, 2025.

The preliminaries will run from Tuesday, October 7, through Friday, October 10, at the Frenches House in Kingstown, commencing at 1 p.m. each day.

The first group of schools in Zone One will present on the topic: “A modern port for a modern nation: is the investment worth the cost?” on Tuesday, October 7. On the second day of preliminaries, Wednesday, October 8, schools from Zone Two will speak on the topic: “Mega Churches: Spiritual Communities or Corporate Enterprises?”

On Day Three, slated for Thursday, October 9, schools from Zone Three will explore the topic: “Chains of the Past: Are we truly free from old forms of oppression today?” On the fourth and final day of the preliminaries, Friday, October 10, schools from Zone Four will tackle the topic: “Ensuring full participation from persons with disabilities means giving them a seat at the table. Is inclusivity a foreign concept?”

Six finalists will be selected to represent their schools on Thursday, October 30, 2025, at the Methodist Church Hall in Kingstown, beginning at 7 p.m.

Addresses are expected from the title sponsor, the Ministry of Education, and the President of the Lions Club St. Vincent South, Lion Michael John.

FLOW will once again sponsor this year’s competition, as they have been doing for the past two decades.

The preliminaries will be broadcast live each afternoon on VC3 Television Channel 114 and via the Facebook pages of VC3 Television, the Agency for Public Information (API), the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), and the Lions Club St. Vincent South, along with other local radio stations, from 1 p.m. daily.

This information was sourced from a press release sent to us by the Lions Club St. Vincent South.