Source: School of Foreign Languages
Written by: Department of French
Translated by: Zheng Lei, Peng Ting
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On the afternoon of March 28, 2015, the 6th Pearl River Delta Inter-university French Speech Competition was held in School of Foreign Languages (FLS) of Sun Yat-sen University. The competition was co-organized by Consulate General of France in Guangzhou, Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, The Association of Teachers of French in Hong Kong and Macau, and Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU).

Prof. Huang Guowen, Dean of FLS, and Mr. Bertrand Furno, Consul General of France in Guangzhou, delivered an opening speech respectively. Prof. Huang Guowen introduced the active connection between SYSU and French universities and research institutes, and called for more cooperation in the future. This competition, he remarked, was a well-established platform for the students to study, communicate and display their abilities. Mr. Bertrand Furno expressed his sincere gratitude to FLS for its efforts in organizing the event and promoting French studies. Due to the effort of the Department of French of FLS, the competition was held at SYSU for the second time.

The Pearl River Delta Inter-university French Speech Competition is held once a year during the Fête de la Francophonie, aiming to provide a platform for French learners in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) to showcase their language competence and reasoning ability. This year, the competition brought together ten contestants from 10 universities in the PRD, including The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and South China Normal University. Each contestant delivered a ten-minute speech on the given topic of "Emergence of Social Community in the Pearl River Delta", which was graded by the judges, made up of French specialists and French teachers.

During the competition, the ten contestants presented their views on the win-win cooperation and complementary development in Guangdong and Hong Kong. Their stage manners and impassioned performance won applause from the audience. Finally, Guo Keqing from the Department of French of FLS was named the first runner-up in recognition of her wonderful speech, and she has been awarded the opportunity to study in Leon, France for three weeks.