CPF–Québec held its Concours provincial d’art oratoire 2007 French second language public speaking contest last Saturday, May 12th at Concordia University.  Fifty secondary students representing five English school boards competed in nine FSL categories.  CPF-Québec would like to congratulate all participants who displayed great courage in delivering their speeches and showcasing their French skills in front of parents, teachers and school board representatives.

In particular, CPF-Québec would like to wish Philemon Wright High School’s Hayley Miloff (Secondary 5 Core French champion), Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School’s Seharish Noor Khan (Secondary 5 Enriched French champion), and Westmount High School’s Yasmin Youssef (Secondary 5 French Mother Tongue champion) best of luck as they will now advance to the CPF National Concours on May 27th in Ottawa.  Miloff, Khan and Yousef will be competing against provincial champions from coast to coast for $20,000 scholarships offered as grand prizes from the University of Ottawa. 

The Concours provincial d’art oratoire 2007 will take place on Saturday,            May 12^th, 2007 from 1:30pm-5:00pm at Concordia University’s Samuel Bronfman Building.

“These students have already displayed tremendous courage and perseverance in their performances at the regional level, in their second language, to advance to this competition,” said CPF-Québec President Martine Delsemme.

L’Institut du Nouveau Monde (INM) is an independent, non-partisan organization dedicated to the renewal of public debate in Quebec. The INM aspires to inspire the emergence of new ideas and to contribute research toward the development of innovative solutions to the challenges faced by today's Quebec. 

Registration has begun for the 2007 edition of École d’été de l’Institut du Nouveau Monde (summer school), which will be held August 22 to 25 at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). At this unique forum, hundreds of youth between the ages of 15 and 35 will have the opportunity to obtain information and take part in discussions and debates. This citizenship school is presented as a festive event that will allow young citizens to learn and experiment in a fun and exploratory environment associated with the summer season. In short, it’s a collective citizenship event for young people.

MONTREAL – CPF–Québec hosted the inaugural Concours régional d’art oratoire – Montreal West Island on Saturday, April 21st, 2007 at Dorval’s Sarto Desnoyers Community Centre.  Several Lester B Pearson School Board students will now advance to the Concours provincial, which is scheduled for Saturday, May 12th at Concordia University.

“The quality of the speeches was superb and reflects the dedication of the students, their teachers  and parents in preparation for this event,” said CPF-Québec President Martine Delsemme, adding:  “I am particularly proud of the Core French students, who displayed great courage in delivering their five minute speech. This is one of the most challenging tasks for any student to accomplish in their second language.”