Omar Hazari to represent SL at Int’l Public Speaking Competition in UK

(From left) First runner-up Nethaka Fernando, chief guest Chethana Liyanage, ESU Sri Lanka President Tilak Amerasinghe, Winner Omar Hazari, ESU President-Elect Dr. Nalin Jayasuriya, second runner-up Dewvin Perera, ESU General Secretary Yasmin Nimaladasa

The Winner of the National Public Speaking Competition 2026, 18-year-old Omar Hazari from Royal College, Colombo, is to represent Sri Lanka at the International Public Speaking Competition to be held in London, United Kingdom.

The International Public Speaking Competition will be held July 13-17 in London, UK.  

The awards ceremony of the National Public Speaking Competition 2026 conducted by the English Speaking Union of Sri Lanka was held on May 9 at the Scholar House in Colombo. 

The chief guest at the awards ceremony Chethana Liyanage, Chief Talent Officer of the Capital Maharaja Group, awarded the Dr. T. P. Amerasinge Challenge Trophy to Hazari. Nethaka Fernando of St. Peter’s College, Colombo and Dewvin Perera of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo were selected as the 1st and 2nd Runners-up respectively.

The speeches in the Grand Final were of very high standard and the adjudicators had a challenging deliberation before selecting the winners. The panel of adjudicators for the grand final were former Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, New York and Thailand and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Kshenuka Senewiratne, Group Director/CEO of CICRA Holdings, Boshan Dayaratne who leads a diversified group specialising in cyber security training, consultation, and software development and Leadership Coach, Corporate Trainer and the Founder of Business English Global Ayanthi Philip.

The  English Speaking Union (ESU) of Sri Lanka noted that a record number of entries were received for this year’s National Competition which included students from schools in several districts of the island. 

Tilak Amerasinghe, President of ESU-Sri Lanka in his speech thanked the Chief Guest for gracing the occasion with her presence and congratulated Omar Hazari, the winner and wished him all the very best for the upcoming International Public Speaking Competition to be held in London. 

Whilst congratulating the 1st and 2nd Runners-up he advised the rest of the participants not to be disappointed as they are now able to deliver a speech in front of any audience without any stage fright and asked them not to give up as they will have another chance to participate next year. 

Amerasinghe pointed out that the ESU will be conducting the second Junior Public Speaking Competition for students aged 13-15 in September/October. This will serve as a feeder competition to gain experience and confidence for them to step into the National Competition.

The chief guest, Chethana Liyanage, thanking the ESU for inviting her, congratulated the winner and the runners-up for their achievements. Speaking on modern technology, she advised the students not to solely depend on AI but to use it wisely and skillfully. She further stated that students should not give up when their attempt fails but to keep trying hard until they succeed. She concluded her speech saying that “great speakers are not born but they are built - through practice, practice in silence, practice under pressure, practice until confidence becomes natural because every great speaker you admire today was once a beginner who never gave up.”

The vote of thanks was delivered by president-elect, Dr. Nalin Jayasuriya, Chairman, McQuire Rens Global Consulting (Pvt) Ltd. and Non-Executive Chairman, Eswaran Brothers Exports Ltd. 

ESU of Sri Lanka annually conducts the National Public Speaking Competition for students aged 16-20. The winner of this competition is selected to represent Sri Lanka at the annual International Public Speaking Competition held by the ESU Headquarters in London. Last year ESU National Winner Sashane Dassanayake was able to win the international competition in which winners from over 40 countries competed. 

English Speaking Union of Sri Lanka which was founded in 1981 by the late Dr. T.P. Amerasinghe is affiliated with the English Speaking Union International based in Dartmouth House, London, UK. Its patron is HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne. It has branches in 56 countries including Sri Lanka.