Sidra Iqbal, a young Pakistani television presenter and public relations expert, has set another glaring example of the extraordinary talent of Pakistani youth by representing the country on the panel of judges of highly prestigious yearly International Public Speaking Competition organized by English Speaking Union (ESU) in London.
ESU- an international forum of English speakers- is currently chaired by Baron Hunt of Wirral, British shadow minister for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reforms. Sidra who had won this competition in 1999 and received her certificate from Duke of Edinbrugh Prince Philip in a ceremony held at the Buckingham Palace, is the first ever Pakistani to be represented at the panel of judges as alumni in the 30 years history of the competition since 1981.
Eighty two participants from all over the world representing forty five countries participated in the event this year. In the public speaking competition Ahmed Nawaz represented Pakistan and managed to reach the semi finals. Sharing her overwhelming sense of pride for representing Pakistan on such a prestigious forum Sidra, who is also the founding managing director of a PR firm, said that this platform has a potential of setting a momentum of the lives of participants.
The participants were divided into eight groups for the initial rounds and were judged by different panels of judges. Pakistani contestant Ahmed Nawaz spoke on ‘Conservation on Natural Resources for Future Generation.’ The year 2011 is the 30th anniversary of the ESU International Public Speaking Competition. It started in 1981 between Australia, England and Wales and has now expanded to over 45 countries.
The contestants are all students who reach international competition after qualifying the competitions at the national level. Maximum two students can participate from each country.
