ISS Company Contributes to the Japanese Speech Contest

The 39th Annual Nihongo Benrontaikai Japanese Speech Contest took place in the Marble Hall of the Lucerna Palace in Prague on 18 April 2015. The contest was put on with the participation of several organizations, the main one being the Czech-Japanese Association, and it was financed with the help of various contributors and sponsors. INDET SAFETY SYSTEMS a.s. (ISS) supported the event with a financial donation that has been used to purchase a return ticket to Japan. Two ISS employees attended the event as guests.

In total, 20 learners from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia and a Serbian, all of whom have been studying Japanese at Czech institutions, participated in the contest. Each of them had the opportunity to recite a speech on a topic of their own choosing, which they had prepared themselves. The contestants competed in three groups according to their language skills – beginner, intermediate and, for the first time, there was also an advanced group this year for students, who had already spent some time in Japan and could therefore share their experience.

It was a formal event and, as a result, some of the contestants seemed quite nervous but, despite this, the atmosphere was enjoyable. The themes of the recitals included humorous and complex ideas connecting objective views with subjective experiences, which was captivating and entertaining to the audience. It was rather refreshing to see so many people interested, not only in the Japanese culture and tradition but, in this case, in the unusual language as well. 

The most successful contestant was a young student, who recited a speech entitled “The Relationship between Nattō, Ghibli and Life,” and who not only won in the intermediate level, but also the audience award, which was a brand new plasma television.   
Apart from the speeches recited, there was also an opportunity to sample some Japanese hors d'oeuvres and later to listen to a student choir performing songs in Czech as well as in Japanese.

                                      Group photo taken at the end of the contest. 

  Nattó- traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans. Nattō may be an acquired  taste because of its powerful smell, strong flavor, and slimy texture.  Ghibli- Japanese film studio producing animated feature movies of dramatic-fantastic genre. 

                                                                                                                        (KK, CP Dept.)