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06-05-2019

Times of Oman

Muscat: A 15-year-old girl has won the first Japan Oman Youth Speech Contest, beating tens of other contestants and winning her a two-week educational and cultural trip to Japan. Aziza Al Kitani, from Madinat Sultan Qaboos school, made her speech in Japanese, winning her the prize in the high school, Japanese language division.

There were three other winners, who won the English portions for high school and college students, as well as the Japanese portion for college students. Aziza told Times of Oman, “I’m very excited to go to Japan again. I’ve visited two times before while studying Japanese for two years. I want to go to high school and college there, and to become a researcher there.”

Aziza’s speech, where she spoke about her dreams, left the Japanese Ambassador impressed.

Toshinori Kobayashi, the Japanese Ambassador in Oman and one of the judges of the competition, exclusively told Times of Oman, “I was very impressed. When I heard the young contestant speak, if I closed my eyes it felt like I was listening to a Japanese person.”

Speaking about the importance of such competitions, he added, “I was so happy to see so many Omanis interested in Japan. If they continue, they will surely become a bridge for Omani-Japanese relations.”

Aziza had always been interested in Japanese after watching Japanese animated series and films, and her parents worked to nurture that talent.

Said Al Kitani and Amal Al Busaidi, Aziza’s parents, said, “We are very proud because the most important thing for this younger generation is to gain skills. When we saw her talent and interest, we wanted to be absolutely supportive. It is the parent’s job to be supportive in that sense.”

Said added, “When she went on her first course, I was her fellow student, and I would like to confirm that I did pass the first Japanese course, but then she pulled ahead.”

Amal added, “I was always confident that she would win.”

In this competition, four young Omanis were chosen out of more than 50 people for the 15 day trip. Aziza was joined by Nasra Al Manji, who won the English speaking high school portion, as well Amatallah Al Busaidi in the Japanese college division and Amna Al Ghawi for the English college division. Al Manji said, “Winning feels indescribable honestly; I never expected this at all. It was an honour enough to take part.”

Talking about what she looked forward to the most in Japan, she added, “I look forward to Immersing myself in a different culture that I don’t know about.”

Anthony Isaac, Executive Director of Saslo Legal Training Centre and one of the judges of the competition’s English side, said, “Being a good speaker is a skill that can be trained, and used to motivate, explain, entertain, or educate. It is a skill that can be useful to anybody in any profession.”

The semifinals and finals of the competition were held on 4 May at InterContinental Muscat, where the finals were held under the auspices Toshinori Kobayashi.

Dr. Suad Al Mudhaffar, founder of Japan Oman Youth and organiser of the event, told Times of Oman, “There were 44 contestants on the English side, and 12 who presented their speeches in Japanese.” According to her, the competition sprang for the large number of Omanis who are interested in Japan.

Al Mudhaffar added, “I found a lot of Omani students learning the Japanese language through manga (japanese comics). Some of these students will study under the Oman Japan Friendship Association, so why not hold this kind of competition?

“I thought there would be fewer participants doing this in Japanese, which is why we allowed an English competition as well. I was surprised by the numbers of people who registered,” she added.