Public Speaking develops effective communication skills which is the backbone of any society. It improves confidence, helps form connections, and can influence decisions and motivate change.
Now in its 21st year, the Public Speaking Competition is ESU Chile’s flagship event and involves over 60 students, ages 16 to 20, from nearly 30 schools.
Every year, the competition brings together the best young speakers from across the country, with the winner going on to represent Chile at the International Public Speaking Competition in London England. For this competition, students must prepare and deliver a speech based on a theme that is provided by ESU UK.
Dr. Birkner holds a PhD in Education (TESOL) from the University of Exeter and a Master's in Applied Linguistics with TESOL from Sheffield. He lectures in the English Teaching programme at Universidad Andrés Bello, with research interests in teacher identity, critical pedagogy, recognition theory, and ELT textbook analysis in Chile. His work also covers gamification and materials development for disadvantaged settings. He publishes and presents nationally and internationally, and supervises undergraduate research in these areas.
Peter Lynch is an Anglo-Chilean who has lived and studied in both Chile and the UK. He has an economics degree from the University of Southampton and a postgraduate business degree from the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. He is a Past President of the Cámara Chileno-Británico de Comercio (BritCham) and a member of the board of the Instituto Chileno-Británico de Cultura.
Claudia Parra is the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV)'s English Language Programme Director & CL304 Cambridge English Centre Exams Manager. An English Translator from the Universidad de Concepción, she also holds a Masters in Education from the PUCV, and an MPhil in English and Applied Linguistics from the University of Cambridge.
Anne Westmacott is an English Teacher Trainer, and English Coordinator at the Universidad de Los Andes. She holds a BSc in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh, a Postgraduate Certificate of Education at the University of Cambridge, and a MA in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language at the University of London.
For our 20th Anniversary Ceremony in March 2025 we asked some of our Past Champions to tell us about their experiences in the competition. Some of them also recreated the speech they gave at the International Public Speaking Competition in London. See the videos below to find out!
| YEAR | PLACE | NAME | SCHOOL REPRESENTED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1st | Agustina Aedo | Redland School |
| 2019 | 2nd | Ivanna Borace | Lincoln International Academy |
| 2019 | 3rd | Jeannie Kim | Nido de Águilas |
| 2019 | Honourable Mention | Ignacia Cabrera | Santiago College |
| 2018 | 1st | Paula Tuñon | La Maisonnette |
| 2018 | 2nd | Jaime Rojas | The International School La Serena |
| 2018 | 3rd | Miguel Soto | Colegio Cumbres |
| 2018 | Honourable Mention | María Ignacia Cabrera | Santiago College |
| 2017 | 1st | Anya Edwards | The Grange School |
| 2017 | 2nd | Juan Pablo Tarziján | Colegio Cumbres |
| 2017 | 3rd | Felipe Caroca | Colegio Everest |
| 2017 | Honourable Mention | Francisco Undurraga | Redland School |
| 2016 | 1st | Sebastián Hood | Windsor School |
| 2016 | 2nd | Consuelo Carrasco | Colegio Cumbres Femenino |
| 2016 | 3rd | Francisca Retamal | The Grange School |
| 2016 | Honourable Mention | Nicolás Guerra | Colegio Everest Masculino |
| 2015 | 1st | María Ignacia de la Carrera | Colegio Cumbres Femenino |
| 2015 | 2nd | Diego Cerda | Colegio Everest Masculino |
| 2015 | 3rd | Josefina Frei | Santiago College |
| 2015 | Honourable Mention | Francesca Kuzmanic | Santiago College |
| 2014 | 1st | José Pablo Domínguez | Colegio Everest Masculino |
| 2014 | 2nd | Matías Fleischmann | Colegio Cumbres Masculino |
| 2014 | 3rd | María Ignacia Urzu | Colegio Everest Femenino |
| 2014 | Honourable Mention | Cynthia Gajardo | Colegio Nuestra Señora del Carmen |
| 2013 | 1st | Sofía Montaner | Villa María Academy |
| 2013 | 2nd | Tamara Katz | Windsor School |
| 2013 | 3rd | Begoña Bilbao | Colegio Everest Femenino |
| 2012 | 1st | Alexa Epstein | Lincoln International Academy |
| 2012 | 2nd | Magdalena Cortina | Villa María Academy |
| 2012 | 3rd | Daniela Ahumada | Saint Gabriel's School |
| 2011 | 1st | Gastón Bruna | Wenlock School |
| 2011 | 2nd | Agustina Zegers | Nido de Águilas |
| 2011 | 3rd | María José Garib | Colegio Everest Femenino |
| 2010 | 1st | Antonia Sanhueza | Colegio Everest Femenino |
| 2010 | 2nd | Catalina Salgueiro | Windsor School |
| 2010 | 3rd | Mariano Sepúlveda | Colegio Everest Masculino |
| 2009 | 1st | Pablo Julián Valenzuela | Colegio Everest Masculino |
| 2009 | 2nd | Roshni Dadlani | Nido de Águilas |
| 2009 | 3rd | Gabriel Orrego | St. Paul's School |
| 2008 | 1st | Raimundo Gana | Bradford School |
| 2008 | 2nd | María Rosario Vásquez | Colegio Everest Femenino |
| 2008 | Best English Speaker | Guillermo Morales | Colegio Everest Masculino |
| 2007 | 1st | Magdalena Alvear | Colegio Cumbres Femenino |
| 2007 | 2nd | Claudia Fischer | The Grange School |
| 2006 | 1st | Yoel Biltrán | Instituto Hebreo Dr. Chaim Weizmann |
| 2006 | 2nd | Rodrigo Bilbeny | Redland School |
| 2005 | 1st | Kusac Wersikowsky | Santiago College |
| 2005 | 2nd | María Jesús Alliende | Colegio Cumbres Femenino |
| 2005 | Best English Speaker | María Sofía Nievas | Lincoln International Academy |
