40th anniversary of Vallée de Mai as a Unesco World Heritage site |27 June 2023

A captivated audience engages with the voices of the youth at the national public speaking competition

SIF commemorates milestone with national public speaking competition

As part of a series of events to mark the 40th anniversary of the Vallée de Mai as a Unesco World Heritage Site, the Seychelles Islands Foundation and the Ministry of Education organised a national public speaking competition for primary and secondary students from June 20-22, 2023 at the National Theatre, Mont Fleuri.

The competition's theme – ‘The importance of Vallée de Mai as World Heritage’ – focused on raising awareness of the site’s significance as a source for socio- economic growth for the island of Praslin and the opportunities the site provides for science, education, tourism and culture.

“The 40th anniversary of Vallée de Mai as a Unesco World Heritage is a momentous milestone for the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF),” said Maria Brioche, education and outreach coordinator at SIF.

“Through the national public speaking competition, we were able to create a platform for a meaningful dialogue exploring the value of preserving our natural heritage,” she said.

Ms Brioche added that the students conducted in-depth research on the theme and provided statistics to corroborate their statements.

“We were very impressed with several recommendations from students in regards to raising awareness of the site’s designation, which highlights the critical role that they play as future ambassadors of the Vallée de Mai.”

The national public speaking competition brought together 32 schools in total (19 primary schools and 13 secondary schools) across Mahé, Praslin and La Digue who fearlessly delivered compelling speeches on underlying topics such as biodiversity conservation, sustainable tourism, impacts of Covid-19, the use of technology for communicating science and what it would mean if the Vallée de Mai were to lose its designation.

Lynndina Essack, senior education officer at the Ministry of Education, commented: “This public speaking contest has drawn the most students to date from the schools. Students, you have done a marvellous job using evidence to argue your points and answer the judges’ questions. The judges of the competition will have a tough time to select the winners as all schools were well prepared.”

The winners of the competition will be announced in July in a prize giving ceremony hosted by SIF.

In addition to the competition, SIF is also organising free guided day-tours to stakeholders in the tourism industry including hotel staff and monthly night safaris to visitors and residents for a fee.

The SIF manages and protects Seychelles’ Unesco World Heritage sites of Aldabra Atoll in the far south of the archipelago and the Vallée de Mai on Praslin Island, as well as the Fond Ferdinand nature reserve.

SIF has been a pioneer in nature conservation as the longest running environmental organisation in the Seychelles.

Established as a public trust in 1979, SIF has successfully managed both sites for over 40 years, made substantial contributions towards biodiversity conservation and established international and national links and collaborations, bringing benefits to global and national conservation objectives.

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