My name's Lloyd Cameron. I'm the Speaking [? Competitions ?] Officer at The Arts Unit of New South Wales Department of Education. I'd like to acknowledge the [? Geawegal ?] people who are the traditional custodians of this land. I'd also like to pay respect to the elders both past and present of the Eora nation and extend that respect to other Aboriginals present.

I'm pleased to welcome [? Defpal ?] Singh, advisory board member of Multicultural New South Wales and from the New South Wales Department of Education. Jane Simmons, Executive Director, Learning and Leadership. And Evelyn [? Maglalas, ?] [? Leaving ?] [? Leader ?] [? Equity ?] units. The three adjudicators-- Tony Davey, [? Marika ?] [? Stipanovich, ?] and Patrick [? Corwall. ?]

Tony is a former school debating champion and combined high school debating team coach. And for over a decade now, he's assisted in the coordination of the [? Premier's ?] debating challenge, adjudicated many debates, given numerous workshops, and coordinated the Multicultural Perspectives Competition.

Marika has been involved in public education for over 25 years as a teacher, adult education and project officer in multiculturalism and anti-racism education. Her experience extends to teaching English and ESL in comprehensive high schools and intensive language centers. She holds an Australian Research Council grant, partnering with Western Sydney University and the Victorian education department which will help develop resources for schools to build schools in bystander, anti-racism action. [? Marika ?] is currently the multicultural adviser for the New South Wales Department of Education.

Patrick won the New South Wales and national Plain English Speaking Award final and the Asia-Pacific Final In 2002. He went on to be runner-up at the International Final in 2003. He's also won the Australasian Parliamentary Debating Championships and was a finalist at the World University's Debating Championships on several occasions. He studied modern languages in Lawrence Sydney University. And worked as an advisor to the then prime minister Kevin Rudd, before moving to the private sector.

The students who'll be running today's final attend Greenway Park Public School. I'll now hand over to Megan Azocar and [? Aisha ?] Pennington who'll be our chairperson and timekeeper for today's final.

Thank you, Mr. Cameron. Ladies, gentlemen, and students, in the years three and four prepared speech section each student may speak for three minutes. There'll be a warning bell at two minutes [BELL RINGS] with two bells up three minutes [BELL RINGS] to indicate that the speaker's time has expired. A continuous bell will be rung at four minutes [BELL RINGS].

After this session, there will be a 20 minute break followed by the impromptu speeches. Before we begin, just a reminder to make sure all mobile phones are switched off. The first speaker is Jordie Brown from Singleton Heights Public School in the Hunter Valley. The subject of Jordie speech is "Sport breaks down the barriers." Please welcome Jordie to the stage.

Australia is an amazing country. A multicultural country where people from every part of the world live side by side. But there's more to it than that, in Australia we don't just live beside people from other cultural backgrounds, we're joined with each other in communities with common activities, dreams, and goals.

Sport provides these common activities, dreams, and goals. And in doing so, sport breaks down barriers. A barrier is like a wall that prevents people from connecting. Barriers exist when we stereotype or don't understand other people. Just as you can't tell what a book is like from its cover, you can tell what a person is like by looking at them or knowing where they're from.

Sport breaks down barriers, firstly, by bringing people together. Secondly, by helping to remove stereotypes. And finally, by providing common goals and rules that are understood by everyone involved.

Sport provides people with the opportunity to get together. Last year, I went to the MCG to watch a game of football. When I looked around, I saw many different types of people all sitting side by side to watch an amazing football match. The result wasn't the one I wanted, but the atmosphere was so exciting. Everyone was there with the same purpose of supporting their team and enjoying the game.

Earlier this year while accepting an award for the work his club does to connect migrants, GWS official, Richard Griffiths said that sport has long been the glue that bound Australia together. [BELL RINGS] Sport helps break down stereotypes and promote understanding of others by providing examples of people unexpectedly achieving extraordinary things.

Recently the [INAUDIBLE] basketball club, in Blacktown, whose goal is to unite and engage migrants and refugees with others, has been in the news because players have been selected by talent scouts from the USA. When people see things that don't fit with their existing ideas, their perceptions are changed, stereotypes are removed, and they see individuals as they really are.

Sport provides people with a common purpose and goal, along with the rules for interacting with others respectfully and fairly. During the Olympic games, people from all countries compete in many sports. [BELL RINGS] And people from all over the world support the athletes. The emphasis is on fairness, co-operation, and respect. People need to speak the same language to understand this and enjoy the great atmosphere with others from different backgrounds. The same thing happens with events like the soccer World Cup. While I'm talking about soccer, I have a joke for you. What [INAUDIBLE] a soccer stadium? A soccer match.

In conclusion, sport breaks down barriers by bringing people together, helping them to understand each other, and giving them shared goals. As Nelson Mandela once said, sport has the power to change the world, it has the power to inspire, and unite people in a way that little else does.

The second speaker is Ruby Keast from Castle Hill Public School in Northern Sydney. The subject of her speech is "Kids can make a difference." Please welcome Ruby. Kids they can't drive, they're always giggling or arguing, and they don't eat all of their vegetables. So how can kids make a difference?

Well, first of all, to make a difference doesn't have to mean doing something that would change the world. We can make a difference, right here, in our own schools and community. The main way kids can make a difference is by giving, but, hang on, I'm a kid, I'm only supposed to be getting, not giving-- right? And what do I have to give, anyway. Actually, I've realized that the main things kids can give are a smile, time, money, and a little bit of courage.

Smiling. It costs us nothing, but can make the world of difference. At my school, over half of the students have come to Australia from another country and doesn't speak much English. I can help make a difference by smiling at them, offering to help with their work, or even spend some time with them in the playground. It all starts with a smile. As the old song goes, "when you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you." Giving your time and money to make a difference in our community just takes a little bit of creativity and planning, every year I take part in Stuff the Bus, a charity where we fill a whole bus full of new toys, games, and food items-- that help buy with my pocket money and my mom's.

Sometimes making a difference means being brave. For some kids their bravery has had a big impact, just like Ruby Bridges, who in 1960 became the first black American girl to attend her local primary school. [BELL RINGS] Even though she's upset many white people, Ruby kept attending school every day. Her bravery helped other black children to [? join ?] their local schools.

As for this Ruby, I can be brave by offering my voice. We can all speak up when people are saying unkind words or write a letter to a sponsor child in another country. Smile at the new kid in school. It really is simple for kids to spread kindness and joy. So kids you don't need to be famous, or rich, or grown up to make a difference. You don't even need to eat all of your vegetables. As long as you have a smile, and some time to give, and a little bit brave-- then kids we can make a difference. Thank you.

The third speaker this morning is Thomais Papas from Bald Face Public School in South Sydney. The topic of her speech is "What is an Australian. " Please welcome Thomais down to the stage.

Some people may think that being an Australian is about driving a German car, to go to an Irish pub, to drink a Belgian beer, then traveling home grabbing an Indian curry or Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture, and watch American shows on a Korean TV. Please tell me they're not educated.

I believe that being an Australian far exceeds these jovial stereotypes. You don't need to eat baked beans on toast or know that there is a universal place called [? Whoop Whoop, ?] located in the middle of nowhere. In fact, I strongly feel that the chorus of the song "I am Australian" best answers the question of what is an Australian. "We are one, but we are many. And from all the lands on earth we come." In such a simple phrase, the people of Australia are identified as both individuals and as a collective. There is no distinction made between a person wearing a red and yellow surf hat with their freckled face covered in zinc. Or, a migrant who arrived on our shores holding the iconic suitcase.

One a single entity made up of many, the collective. Think of it as one salad made up of many fruits. To define what an Australian is, one must understand that whilst there are multiple cultures in our land, what distinguishes us from the many is what binds us together as one. What then allows such a diverse mix to coexist as one Australia? We all share a dream. Every person, family, and ethnicity that coexist in Australia holds dear to them a purpose-- a dream. Their dream, my dream is to live a free life in an environment that offers opportunity, respects individuals and their [BELL RINGS] differences, is tolerant, and has freedom of speech.

Take for example my great-grandfather. Despite fleeing conflict in Russia and China in pursuit of his dream to live in a diverse and accepting society-- it was Australia which finally accepted him with open arms. In return he offered the strong cultural upbringings of Russia, the hardworking diligence of the Chinese, and the Zorba attitude of good food, wine, and dance of the Greek culture. All ingredients of today's fair [? dinkum ?] Australian.

Whether we refer to the settlers from the first fleet, migrants who help build Australia, or more recent arrivals from war torn countries such as Syria or others with oppressive dictatorships and awful human rights-- Australia is seen as a lucky country. A society in which many languages, colors, and cultures seem to blend seamlessly. [BELL RINGS] I believe an Australian is somebody who shares this vision and has a desire to contribute in celebrating diversity.

An Australian is one who looks beyond these stereotypes and sees their neighbor as a simple person, another face in amongst the many. One who does not pass judgment or draw comparisons between those more or less fortunate. Australians are a compassionate and fair folk, they lend a hand, and are accepting of everyone-- unconditionally. A true Australian proudly stands tall and sings with one voice-- "I am, you are, we are Australian."

The fourth speaker is Tylah Lee from Minnamurra Public School on the South Coast. The subject of Tylah's speech is "When does a migrant become an Australian." Please welcome Tylah down to the stage.

There are no words of comfort that can hope to ease the pain of losing homes and loved ones, the memories will remain. Within the silent tears you'll find strength to carry on, you're not alone. We are with you, we are Australian.

When does a migrant become an Australian? Is it when I eat a meat pie, throw shrimp on the barbie, climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge, or is it when they wave the Australian flag on Australia Day? Well, all of these are stereotypical things that Australians do. I believe then a migrant becomes an Australian when they make the decision to call Australia home.

When a migrant is faced with the decision to leave their countries, pack up their families, and move-- they have over one hundred countries to pick from. So why do migrants choose Australia? Is it because we are a democratic nation? Maybe it's because we have the right to practice our religion without persecution? Or, is it because of our good reputation as the lucky country? I'm not really sure. But I'm certain that they choose Australia for reasons that are important to them.

Leaving your home and everyone you know for a chance of a new start in a foreign country is one of the biggest decisions a person can make in their lifetime. Especially, considering that a move to Australia is an extremely long one. And one that takes them so far away from all that they know. Unfortunately, for some migrants the decision to leave their country, home, and families is one that has been forced upon them. These innocent families are coming to our lucky country in search of peace and harmony. They are forced to flee their country of war or persecution.

For the last 60 years, many different families, from a variety of countries have relocated to Australia looking for a better way of life. As a result, Australia [BELL RINGS] has become a multicultural country.

So when does a migrant become an Australian? I believe that a migrant becomes an Australian when they make the decision to call Australia home. However, there are some Australians that believe you're not a true Australian until you pass the Australian citizen test and legally become an Australian. I wonder, how many people in the audience could actually pass the Australian citizen test? There are 20 multiple choice questions and you have to answer 15 correctly to pass the test. For example, what is the rank of Australia among largest countries? Or, in which year was golf discovered in Victorian colonies and New South Wales?

Australia's post-war migrants from Europe made significant contributions to the Australia we live in today. But I doubt if they could have passed a written English test. Lucky for them and us because today we [BELL RINGS] are a celebrated multicultural nation.

Sadly though, there are also some people that won't accept migrants at all for foolish reasons such as the color of their skin, their accents, their background, or even their surname. This behavior is unacceptable and needs to be stopped. I may only be 10 years old, but I'm smart enough to know that we should support migrants coming to Australia. We should welcome them into our great country and let them enjoy the freedom we enjoy.

Remember fellow Australians migrants have often come from troubled times in their former country, they're looking for peace, not looking for trouble. Look around, there's nothing to be frightened of. It's with migrant hands that help build this mighty nation. "We are one, but we are many. And from all the lands on earth we come. We share a dream and we sing with one voice-- I am, you are, we are Australian."

Our fifth speaker for today is Thomas Garrett from Castle Cove Public School on the North Shore. The subject of his speech is "The same but different." Please welcome Thomas out to the front.

When I started to think about my topic, the same but different, I thought of my sister. There is something that is different and special about my sister, Jess, she was born with a disability. Down syndrome is not just who she is, it is one part of who she is. To me she is different because she has one extra chromosome-- I have 46 and she has 47. This means that she can still do everything that we do, but she might just need a little bit more help with things. Don't we all need a little bit of help sometimes?

Jess also sounds a little different when she speaks. This is because she has a low muscle tone and it is harder to say the words that she wants to. It would be like all of you guys trying to say something you really wanted to say, but with a mouth full of marshmallows. Jess has a heart like us and feelings. Once alone, I didn't have friends, and be included in games. Sometimes people said mean things about her and it makes me feel sad. Maybe they just don't understand?

So what does "the same but different" really mean. Well, we are all the same, we are all humans. And we all have the same general structure. And most importantly, we all have a heart and we all have feelings. But we look different to each other. What makes us different is not just to do with our body. There are differences in languages, religions, schools, beliefs, jobs, and even stuff we do in our spare time. We are all like the pieces of a patchwork quilt. If all the pieces were the same the quilt would be boring. Can you imagine how boring the world would be if we were all the same?

Another person in my life I thought about was my tennis coach, Suzanna. Suzanna was born and grew up in Slovakia. Suzanna is an amazing tennis coach and has taught me many things. When she first started teaching me, I had a lot of trouble understanding what she was saying. But we had some funny times, though. [BELL RINGS] For example, she would often go, "forehead, forehead, Tommy." And I'll go, "what's on my forehead?" I really didn't understand. But after many weeks of hearing it, I finally discovered that she was saying, move forward, move forward to the ball. I learned that although Susanna grew up in a different country, she still like us in many ways.

When you meet somebody who is a little different from you, whether they have a different color skin to you, speak a different language, or have a disability like my sister you might feel a little bit scared or uncomfortable. But that's OK because anything new is a little scary at first. But once you learn more about it, you get the knowledge to understand. When you understand that we are all different you can accept it, show respect, and celebrate the differences in people.

How tolerant are you of others? Tolerance is about accepting [BELL RINGS] people for who they are. It also means treating others as you would like to be treated. Next time you see somebody with a disability go up to them, smile to them, and say hello to them. And if you don't understand what someone's saying, like my tennis coach Susanna, ask them to repeat it again rather than just standing there wondering.

In conclusion, remember there's nobody like any of us, yet we are all the same. We are all the same because we all are different. And different Is beautiful.

The sixth speaker is Natalia Jovanovic from Casula Public School in Southwestern Sydney. The subject of a speech is "Sport breaks down the barriers. " Please welcome Natalia to the stage.

On the 25th of January 2014, Adam Goodes was named Australian of the year. Why is this important? Well, when we're talking about sport breaking down barriers Adam Goodes is probably one of the most recent examples that proves this is nothing but true. Adam Goodes is one of Australia's most accomplished sportsmen. He's a professional AFL player for Sydney Swans, and holds the Brownlow Medal title as a [? Jewell ?] [? Premiership ?] player, and member of the Indigenous Team of the Century to name a few. Basically, he's a hero. Not only to athletes across the globe, but also to people like me who care about doing what's right and helping those who are less fortunate.

Adam Goodes is of Aboriginal descent. In history, we know that Aboriginal people have not always been seen equal. In the past, indigenous people were made to live separate lives to non-indigenous Australians. And the only time they would ever come together would be when they were watching or playing sport. Before indigenous people won their rights, there were lots of talented indigenous players on the field representing their community. As time went on, these players became the voice for their community. They were the bridge between their community and the rest of the nation. They used their fame to show the countries the issues their communities were facing.

One such aboriginal AFL player was Michael Long, who was selected as a player for Essendon football club. In this period of Australian sport, it is fair to say that there was a common attitude against some players, spectators, and members of the public that Aboriginal players were seen as inferior. Some showed this through racial slurs and some believed it was fair to have these views. Michael Long had endured these slurs and over a period of time, had memorably lifted his shirt in the Anzac Day game in 1995 to reveal his skin color. And to make a clear statement that he was black. As a result, this act brought this festering issue to the public's attention.

Adam Goodes' proud stance on equality does make me think [BELL RINGS] about my experience in sport and how in the sports I play the barriers have been broken. Rarely, when I swim or play soccer does culture, skin color, accent, or race really affect the game or how we look at each other. When our teams meet, everyone is treated as an equal by the referee. No one gets extra time on the field, no one gets an extra play on the field, or are we allowed to abuse each other. Apart from feeling tired and sweaty after the game, there is something more special that brings us together. We each try to win through fair, but honest means. And afterwards we shake hands with our opponents hands or give them a pat on the back. For that hour or more we were all be enjoying the sport. Sport allows everyone to participate. Whatever your religion, whatever your background, swimming is still swimming around the world. Sport brings people from different cultures together, breaking down the barriers of each country by sharing your values and respect for one another on and off the field.

Ladies and gentlemen, Aboriginal stars like Adam Goodes have demonstrated that sport has the potential to break down barriers. They've brought [BELL RINGS] to the public's attention that the issue of inequality, racial taunts, and cultural slurs are unacceptable as a player or spectator sport. I believe each of us must always remain vigilant and ready to start a conversation with those who want to create such barriers. Let's promote sport as a means to bring us all together and it will continue to have an impact on our attitudes. And will help create a world where everyone is treated with greater dignity and respect.

The seventh speaker this morning is Joshua Lohse from Taree West Public School on the Mid-north Coast. The subject of his speech is "What is an Australian?" Please welcome Joshua.

Gidday. My topic today is to investigate what is an Australian. At first, I thought that to be an Australian is to be born in Australia. I'm an Australian because I was born in Australia. I've since learned that you do not have to be born in Australia to be an Australian.

There are many people who've come to Australia from another country and are now Australian, as I've been granted Australian citizenship. Australia has many different cultures in one country making in a multicultural nation. What does the word "multicultural" mean. It is where there are many different cultures in one society. From the 2013 Bureau of Statistics, Australians identify with more than 270 cultures-- almost 400 different languages are spoken by Australia's 23.8 million people. Again I ask, what is an Australian? Is not just being born in Australia. Is not just being granted citizenship. There has to be more that makes us Australian.

I decided to ask a few people that I know to see what they thought. I asked my [SPEAKING UKRAINIAN], which means grandma and grandpa in Ukrainian, what they thought an Australian was. Being both Ukrainian an Australian, they said that one of the things about being an Australian is to be accepting and welcoming to people from every nation. At my school there are many friends of mine of different backgrounds, like me, including Chinese, Indian, and Japanese. We all accept each other and treat other like an Australian, there are no differences.

I also asked my mom what she thought an Australian was. She said that one of the things about being an Australian is to be accepting of new foods from different cultures. I love eating Chinese food and I've tried eating sushi from Japan. I hate [BELL RINGS] sushi. Did you know that pizza comes from Italy? And French fries come from Belgium? I bet you thought they came from France. And next time you drink a hot chocolate know that it comes from South America.

We're constantly influenced by different cultures. A family friend who is part Aboriginal, said an Australian is someone who is part of this land, who embraces the ways and cultures of the traditional people, and who is proud to uphold the values of this great nation. At school, I always enjoy listening to the [? dreamtime ?] stories and participating in [INAUDIBLE] activities. I like the sound of the didgeridoo and watching traditional Aboriginal dancing. A lot of what we do, in our daily life, is influenced by different cultures. I often make paper airplanes of different types of shapes and sizes and I've realized that paper airplane folding is origami from Japan. [BELL RINGS]

To be an Australian is more than just being born in Australia or being granted citizenship. It seems, it doesn't matter where you come from, the color of your skin, what you eat, or what you believe in. What makes Australians unique is that we embrace many different cultures, foods, and traditions. I've also found out that being Australian is also about caring for the people, the variety of different cultures and histories found in Australia, and taking care of this land. We are multicultural Australians I'm part of an amazing country. I'm part of an amazing people. I'm part of many amazing cultures and histories. I'm Australian and I'm proud.

Our eighth speaker is Alexander Nguyen from Greystanes Public School in Western Sydney. The subject of his speech is "Understanding others." Please welcome Alexander down to the stage.

Understanding others is more than just words from dictionaries or websites. To me understanding means one knowledge, which means that to understand something you need to know about the subject or situation. And two, empathy which requires you to have some kind of relationship with the person or group that you're trying to understand.

So how is this relevant to understanding others? And how does the ability to understand others promote a multicultural society? My grandpa told me that his schooling in Australia, 60 years ago, was really all about the three "R's"-- reading, writing, and arithmetic. My grandpa told me that you didn't really need to learn much about people from other countries. Well, how times have changed. Today, you and I are so lucky to get to learn about many different coaches. I have friends from different backgrounds and religions. We play with each other, we talk about our home routines, cultural celebrations, and different foods you eat. We accept each other because we understand each other.

My deep appreciation of the multicultural society comes from my dad. My dad was born in Vietnam. He came here when he was just nine years old. My dad's family endured the Vietnam War. They risked their life to escape Vietnam as refugees because they value freedom and democracy. My dad's family escaped in a small fishing boat. There were 24 people-- 10 adults and 14 children. Their boat drifted on the South China Sea for four days, after the engine broke down. They were robbed by pirates three times. Eventually, they were rescued by a Thai fishing boat. The only boat [BELL RINGS] I've ever been on is a big cruise ship.

I can only imagine how terrifying that must have been. Dad remembers feeling scared of the Thai fishing boat-- dropped them off onto a quiet beach in the dark. His family had to walk to a small village and then they were taken to a refugee camp. They stayed there for three months before be accepted to come to Australia. It was difficult for my dad's family to understand the Australian way of life, yet they were determined to learn to assimilate and to understand the diverse cultures which exist in this lucky country. More recently, I came across a heartbreaking photo of the Turkish policeman holding a lifeless Syrian refugee boy. To me, this photo represents thousands of other refugees struggling to survive in unfamiliar surroundings far from home. [BELL RINGS] I feel more empathy for refugees who risked everything for a chance to be safe, free, and happy.

Back to my grandpa, a born and bred Aussie, now understands and appreciates the Vietnamese culture. He even now likes Vietnamese food instead of just steak and [? three ?] veggies. I believe that building a true understanding of others is a foundation for multiculturalism. When we truly understand another person or group then we can appreciate them for their differences and similarities. This helps stop ignorance and racism. My family's lucky, we're [INAUDIBLE] cultures. We will continue to learn to understand more about our world. You too, can reach out and do the same. Understand others.

The ninth speaker for today is Gabriella Michalopoulos from Strathfield North Public School in the [? Outer Inner ?] West. The subject of Gabriella's speech is "Kids can make a difference." Please welcome Gabriella.

Oh, no. Not another school morning. I'm not a morning person-- waking up and following the same routine again and again. Why do we need to go to school every day anyway? One day, I said this aloud. My mom looked at me with concern and sat me down she told me the story of a girl called Malala. Malala is a courageous young girl who fought for her rights to receive an education. Often in Australia, we take opportunities like school for granted. But for Malala accessing an education was difficult because the Taliban banned it for girls in Pakistan. She put her life at risk when she wrote on a blog about girls' education saying that it was unjust for girls to miss out on an opportunity.

Struggle, suffering, awareness, change-- this is what Malala symbolizes to me. She's a courageous and determined girl who fought for her right to be educated. And it's not only Malala. Children all over the world, in different situations, are risking their lives to help make a difference. They are only kids. Therefore, kids can make a difference no matter what culture they come from. Do you think we too can make a difference? Don't ignore the little differences you can make because they all add up to big differences. Kids you don't have to make a big difference, like Malala. You can make a positive change in your school, neighborhood, or home. Yes, kids can make a difference.

I made a difference by accepting an invitation to an Indian Diwali festival. Usually, I would not do this, but I knew it meant a lot to my friend for me to go with her. This festival was an explosion [BELL RINGS] of color, taste, and sound. I spent the night immersed in her culture gaining appreciation of what her religion means to her. Experiencing Diwali helped me understand that we are all different. And our differences should be something to celebrate. In attending, I, a kid, made a difference by showing interest and respect for my friend's culture. These kinds of actions are contributing to a harmonious society inclusive of others and their cultures. Do what you can because it is true say kids can make a difference.

The 10th speaker is Hannah Dunmore from Deniliquin North Public School in [? Rivalena ?] about two hours west of Albury. The subject of a speech is "Sport breaks down the barriers." Please welcome Hannah down to the front.

Playing sport can be lots of fun. And provides everyone with the opportunity to try their best in both team and individual activities. Sport in the past and present is known to be effective at breaking down barriers. In sport, a barrier does not have to be an actual object, but it could be social, language, physical, or a multicultural barrier. There are many barriers sport can breakdown.

Sport is able to break down social barriers. Often in country towns, there may be a number of primary schools, so it is hard for children to make new friends out of school. Playing in local team sports such as netball, AFL, and soccer allows children to make new friends. Sport socially connects people from different schools and cultures. This makes it easier later in life when children share the same high school.

Sport break down language barriers. Recently, my cousin went to Africa. And he played soccer with the local children even though they spoke different languages. Soccer is an international sport and the rules are the same regardless of the language.

In terms of multicultural barriers, playing sport allows you to learn about the customs and lifestyles of people from different cultures. Australia is made up of people from all over the world. And often new migrants will participate in sport to help meet new people. Participating in sport offers a common place for everyone to share aspects of their cultural heritage. Developing team harmony is all about learning about each team member, accepting their differences, and valuing their input.

Playing sport does not mean you have to be a tall, muscular athlete to become a [BELL RINGS] [INAUDIBLE] you need to be small and light. Yes, an elite basketball player is generally quite tall, but an elite boxer needs to be short and quick.

Having a disability is not a barrier to playing sport. There are many wheelchair sports events at the Olympic level. Being in a wheelchair also opens up other opportunities for other jobs like scoring in cricket. This allows people with disabilities to remain involved in their local club sports.

There are countries in the world that have been in war with each other for hundreds of years. India and Pakistan are two countries that are often in conflict. But they'll still play cricket against each other because they both love cricket and the people enjoy watching it.

So overall, sport does break down the barriers. Doesn't matter if you are short, or tall, or in a wheelchair, [BELL RINGS] or have a different culture you still have the opportunity to have fun and play sport.

Our 11th speaker this morning is Joe Gilliatt from Bronte Public School in Eastern Sydney. The subject of Joe's speech is "Understanding others." Please welcome Joe to the stage.

I find it very frustrating when people don't understand me. When I was little I used to have a stutter. I'd tried to say something and I would go, I-- I-- I-- I-- I-- by the time I said what I was trying to say the person I was speaking to would have already wondered off. Now I'm older, I don't have a stutter anymore, but I've got lots of excellent jokes which I like to tell my family. But sometimes they would look at me and go, huh, I didn't get it. Which shows complete lack of understanding of how excellent my jokes are.

Understanding, it's so basic and so important. And it goes much further than understanding language. To understand another person, you need to try to imagine yourself in their shoes, even for a second. You need to try to imagine the way they think, where they've come from, why they do the things they do. But a lack of understanding is that the bottom of almost all disagreement. And can even lead to racism and war.

If you don't understand something it's easy to fear it. If you fear something it's easy to make the next step to hating it. When most people say they hate another race, they're really saying they're scared of them. They don't understand them. Abraham Lincoln, who for those of you who don't know, was the 16th president of the United States and abolished slavery-- so he's a pretty good guy-- once said, "I don't like that man, I must get to know him better." What he meant by that is once you know someone properly, you can't dislike them anymore.

When you know someone's greedy when they go to parties because there isn't much food at home, you'll understand them. When you know someone doesn't speak to you because they're shy or their English isn't very good, you understand them. [BELL RINGS] Understanding others is the most important thing for a peaceful multicultural society like Australia. When we understand people's different cultures, stories, and languages we turn them into friends and neighbors, not strangers and outsiders. And in the spirit of national understanding, the next time you hear me tell one of my excellent jokes could you please, at least, pretend to understand it.

The final speaker in this section is Alana Willett's from Emu Plains Public School in Western Sydney near Richmond. The subject for her speech is "What is an Australian." Please welcome Alana.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, oi, oi. Oi, yeah mate. The famous Australian sports call. But have you ever wondered what an Australian really is? A lot of you may think that it was someone who was born in Australia. Good thinking, but my poppy lived in England until he was about eight or nine years old then he moved to Australia. He also fought for Australia in the Vietnam War and survived. My poppy fought for my freedom and for the freedom of all of us. So I would say that he is an Australian and I'm sure you will all agree.

Maybe you think an Australian is someone who lives in this country. Good thinking, but I lived in Singapore for two years and I didn't stop feeling like I was an Australian. I continued to celebrate things like Australia Day, Anzac Day, and, of course, cheered for the [? Golden ?] [? Grain ?] in the Olympic games. So I would say that I am an Australian.

How about we look at famous Australians to see what an Australian is. You've probably all heard of The Wiggles. They're Australian, so does that mean that all Australians are colorful, , skivvy-wearing singing, dancing, and finger wiggling maniacs-- maybe, not. What about that author Andy Griffiths? You know, The 52-Storey Treehouse. So all Aussies are funny, childish, [? grossed-out ?] people. Well, maybe not all of us, but I can see a few in the back there.

And then there's Jana Pittman. She was the second person to compete in a sport in the Summer and Winter Olympics. Wait a second, I might be onto something here, these people are all very different. So maybe being an Australian means that we are all diverse. From the Aboriginals, the traditional custodians of this land, through the first [BELL RINGS] European settlers over 200 years ago, to all the people who have come to find a better life from all parts of the world. Australians are a mixture of culture and belief melded together to form a unique way of life.

In fact, did you know that the Australian government has a multicultural policy? The policy allows all those who choose to call Australia home the right to practice and share in their beliefs and languages. So think about this? Maybe being an Australian is going with your English-born grandmother and your Maltese-born grandpa, pass Little Italy and Chinatown, to have a Turkish kebab and a walk around the Japanese gardens. What I mean is that different cultural expressions impacts on all Australians and makes a multicultural nation more colorful. So whether you are black, white, yellow, red, believe in the dreamtime, a Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, or a member of The Wiggles goes you can all join me in [BELL RINGS] one last-- Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, oi, oi.

In the years three and four impromptu section, students will have five minutes in which to prepare a speech on a general topic provided by the adjudicators. Each speaker then speaks for one minute with a warning bell at 30 seconds [BELL RINGS]. And two bells at one minute [BELL RINGS] to indicate that the speaker's time has expired. A continuous bell will be rung at one and a half minutes [BELL RINGS]. The topic for the impromptu section is "Making mistakes."

I really like food and I know that eating the right food is very good. Not making mistakes like eating junk food and terrible stuff that is really unhealthy for you. Making mistakes are eating, like I said, terrible food. So I think it's important to eat the right food. So my solution is insects. I know it sounds disgusting, I thought so as well. But they're actually nutritious [BELL RINGS], delicious, so don't be superstitious. Just joking.

Insects are high in protein, low in fat, they've got lots of vitamins and minerals, and are very healthy for you. They are ideal for poor and hungry people. They are absolutely delicious, trust me, I've tried them. Now this is the part of my impromptu speech that I usually makes something mean or terrible about my sister, [BELL RINGS] but I can't do that today because she's in the audience Thank you.

I hate making mistakes because sometimes when I do make mistakes they are really, really, really, really bad. And whenever we do make mistakes, normally, it's because we're not [? concentrate. ?] So we should concentrate because if we don't we will make mistakes.

Once I was doing my dancing exams and I wasn't concentrating. I was busy looking at the examiner and seeing how pretty her [BELL RINGS] earrings were. I was really annoyed and not very happy that I had made that mistake because I wasn't concentrating. So that taught me a lesson-- don't make a mistake, always concentrate on what you're doing.

One of my friends once made a mistake of not being kind to me, she wasn't concentrating on what she was saying. But after a while she realized that she had made that mistake. [BELL RINGS] I actually liked that she realized that because otherwise she would just keep on teasing me and I wouldn't like that. So we should always concentrate on what we are doing because otherwise, if we don't, we will make mistakes. Thank you.

I'm sure that most of us in the audience have made many mistakes in our lifetimes like hitting our siblings or not obeying our parents' rules. But one of the major mistakes that should not be taken is abuse and murdering. In countries like Syria, many terrorist groups have made the worst mistake of taking away an innocent person's life. It isn't right these people should be stopped and kept behind [BELL RINGS] bars before matters get worse.

Making mistakes is fun like in a test where you get two mistakes wrong. But we should all know making minor mistakes helps us learn, but major ones are not necessary in our lives. Anyway, I have made a couple thousand mistakes in my life, but in the end making mistakes is all right.

Making mistakes. How can I make a mistake when I'm on my phone? Maybe a spell check mistake, but not anything else. I mean, phones are so perfect, you can do almost anything on them. I can do my homework, which makes mom happy. I can text my friends and get my homework done.

No. No, you can't. Look up Australia, we're making mistakes by looking at the phone all day. [BELL RINGS] Come on, get outside. Interact with people face to face, not screen to screen. You must do something other than looking at your phone, but the worst thing is you don't even know you're doing it.

We're the third fattest country in the world and sitting on the lounge, playing on our phones isn't helping. Come on, Australia. Looking at your phone is making a mistake, a big one. [BELL RINGS]

Well, when I think about making mistakes. I think about-- well to start off with-- I think about what is a mistake. Well a mistake is something that you do when you're really not supposed to. It is like doing something that you're not really suppose to say or you're not really supposed to do.

I'm going to give you two reasons why, I think, you can learn from mistakes. [BELL RINGS] Imagine this, your big day, your big day arrives and you have to say a special thing in Mass. And they call your name and you have to go out and say it. And you stuff it up. That would not be a very good feeling, but you can learn from it.

My second example is-- imagine this, you're playing a soccer game. It is one all, there's two minutes remaining, and suddenly you shoot in the wrong direction [BELL RINGS] and you score for the other team. Imagine what a bad moment that would be and you lose. In conclusion, mistakes can be bad, but you can always learn from them.

Making mistakes is a great thing to do. You're probably thinking that it's bad to stumble and make mistakes, but I think that you learn from them. From a worldview, Australia has made mistakes by judging people and laughing at our differences that we have.

I've made a mistake by judging my friends and not taking them for who they are or what background they come from. We need to sit with our mistakes and give them some consideration. Have we all heard that saying, don't judge the book by its cover. I'm sure you all have. You know we all make mistakes, I know we all make mistakes, but we have to learn that it's OK. Have you ever made a mistake?

Making mistakes is something that most people always do. One of the reasons you make mistakes is, at home, if you might have a brother and sister, you could hurt them, annoy them, and get in trouble. Or, just be annoying. One of the consequences, at home, for doing these is missing out on the iPad, which is one thing I don't like doing, and having jobs. [BELL RINGS]

One of the other mistakes you can do is making a mistake on this speech. And the punishment for that is not winning. And my mom always try helping me not to make mistakes. And so does [? Sean, ?] [SPEAKING UKRAINIAN], and all my aunties and uncles. And making mistakes is [BELL RINGS] something that most people always do.

Now let me tell you a [? medieval ?] story about a boy named Bob. Bob lived a very stressful life. His parents made him study-- hours that never end. He wanted to get into the extension [? class. ?] His parents made him study so much that his eyes nearly popped out.

When the day came Bob was ready. He thought he knew every single question there was. [BELL RINGS] A couple of months later Bob got the results. He didn't get into extension [? class. ?] He made one mistake, one mistake that was all. If he didn't [? make ?] [? it ?] [? that ?] wrong, he would've got there. So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the moral of this story is that making mistakes can be bad, but you can learn from them and always bounce back. [BELL RINGS]

Uh-oh. Let's fix that. Making mistakes, it's not on purpose. I once made a mistake, I thought I was trying to help. I wrote on my brother's library folder. Uh-oh. Learning it's vital. You need to learn from your mistakes, otherwise you'll never have different experiences. And you will learn to be wiser.

If someone makes a mistake, you must learn to forgive them. Otherwise, next time [BELL RINGS] something bad happens, you will want forgiveness. To conclude, making a mistake could be by accident or on purpose. But if next time you want forgiveness, think twice.

Everybody makes mistakes, even I make mistakes. Today I'll be discussing about-- when you make a mistake, you can learn from it. And good sports also make mistakes.

My first point is when you make mistakes, you learn from it. Say I made a mistake in my speech, I could watch other people and see what they did right. And then I could learn from it, next time I did my other speech. [BELL RINGS]

My second point is good sports make mistakes. So say someone made a mistake and then they went off sulking, good sports don't do that. Good sports watch other people and respect they did it right. So in conclusion, these are two of the reasons why making mistakes doesn't mean much.

Making a mistake. Some mistakes that I have made, in the past, is trying to do a deep dive into a pool and almost drowning. Wait. Yeah, I think that was me. I'm pretty sure.

A mistake doesn't mean just mucking up a test. [BELL RINGS] A mistake doesn't mean not doing the right thing. Oh, wait. Yes, it does.

Everyone makes mistakes. Making mistakes is what makes us human. Making mistakes is what ties us together, but it's also what pulls us apart. In conclusion, some [BELL RINGS] people make a mistake, some people don't. But some people never [? win. ?]

Making mistakes. It's funny, when you are worried about something so much you're probably going to make a mistake. I don't mean to sound negative, but these are what nerves are for. A lot of you may not know, but I actually made a mistake in my prepared speech. I kept calm and moved on because my nerves-- they are against me.

But I want to make him come with me, how do I do that? I don't know. But if you [BELL RINGS] look strong and confident, you will make your way through it. If you make a mistake it's human-- with tests, with [INAUDIBLE], with speeches it is all human. So do you think that one day mistakes are all going to go away? No, because that is part of our world. So it's OK to make a mistake.

Yeah, thank you chairperson, and ladies, and gentlemen. And before I start, a massive thanks to Greenway Park for both their impromptu work and their cheering today. I think they've been fantastic. [? So at the back ?] waving at them to do things and they interpreted my hand gestures perfectly. I was really impressed.

So onto the adjudication. The panel wants to begin by congratulating all 12 of the speakers that we saw today. It's certainly not-- They're going to get sick of it if you just keep clapping every time I say something nice because it's mostly a positive adjudication.

We thought they all did a spectacular job. And it's no exaggeration to say that every speaker here has something in their speech in the way they wrote it, or the way they delivered it, or the way they performed in the impromptu-- something that they've done better than any of the other 11 speakers. So everyone at this age has their strengths and their weaknesses, you should all be ridiculously proud for making it this far. And, yeah, you clearly all deserve to be here at a state final-- the last 12 standing out of 1,000. And probably much, much more than that. So congratulations for that. No, no. Especially, don't clap yourself.

So my job is to just give you a couple of things that we thought, as a panel, were particularly successful today. So you can keep developing as speakers. And we'll talk to you about that and then talk about where we ended up making our decision. So first of all, we wanted to congratulate all of the speakers today for their manner. You'll notice, as an audience, we saw lots of different kinds of manner from some quite wavy, loud manner to some quite quiet and slow manner. We think, all of that was really successful at this age, especially, in such a nervous setting.

The only thing we remind you is that as you get older and older as a speaker, you want your manner to become more and more down to earth. So basically, we're saying some of you were pretty cute today-- that's awesome when you're in years three and four, just don't grow up to be a cute year 12 kid giving a speech. Make sure you become a more down-to-earth, straightforward speaker. That's where manner is supposed to take you as you grow up.

The panel also wanted to comment on the humor that was used throughout the speeches today. We thought that there was some light speeches where there were lots of great funny moments. But even in the more serious speeches, where we were dealing with really sophisticated ideas, we thought most of the speakers managed to sneak in a joke or two which we thought made them really easy to relate to and made it an incredibly fun experience. As a panel, we want you to keep using that humor whether you're being serious in your speech or you do have one of those lighthearted speeches a little bit of humor, we think, works really, really well.

The last thing we wanted to say today was we thought the most successful speeches had a really clear idea of what their message was going to be and how they were going to get there. One of the things that happens when you're young and a genius is that your brain fills up with ideas. And you've got three minutes maybe 3 and 1/2 minutes to get this speech done and it can be really tempting to just jam everything that you've got to say in there. And leave lots of broad ideas a little bit abstract and a little bit unexplored. We think the best speakers today use some pretty simple ways to talk about maybe one idea or at most 1 and 1/2 ideas. And explore those ideas and tease them out a little bit using often some really personal narratives or some things that were really simple for the audience to engage with.

So we think the most successful speeches today used a structure where they did just have one idea they wanted to talk about. And had a couple of tales in there to help us understand that idea rather than going through some bigger, broader concepts where you try to jam in too much about multiculturalism. And the entire history of Australia and race relations since time began. So we think that that's really good advice for everybody to choose one thing to talk about and just try to develop it as slowly and carefully as you can. We thought that worked really well.

I've done quite a few of these finals. I should say, you notice today, more than ever before, the kind of time pressure that you're under when you're speaking to three minutes with an absolute ceiling of four minutes. More kids than ever were right up close to that four minute mark. And so, first of all, congratulations for being so brilliant. But second of all, realize that means you've probably got too many ideas for a speech. And you probably do need to narrow them down and tell the story a bit more carefully.

The last thing I wanted to talk about then was about the impromptu speeches today. As a panel, we again thought that every speaker today had the makings have a great idea for an impromptu speech. And the best ones are the ones that make it really clear where they're going from the beginning, step you through it, give you the message-- don't try to do, again, the history of their thing in one minute, but happy to give you a short, small takeaway message following a really clever idea.

So throughout the speeches today we felt that any one of these impromptu speeches could have been solely about like [? sulking, ?] or Australian mistakes that we've made, or how a family helps you get over your mistakes, how concentration is the best way to fix mistakes, how it can be about weird, unkind things you accidentally say to people-- we think that throughout your speeches everybody had that one idea they could have developed. And all you've got to do now is realize that a bit earlier and clear out the other bits which are the, everybody makes mistakes, here's what a mistake is kind of bits in your speeches. You're going to be brilliant once you learn to focus on that one idea and tell that story.

So which speaker today best did all of those things in the eyes of the panel? We thought that this person had a standout prepared speech which went through again quite a sophisticated idea, but not in an abstract way. But by telling a personal story. Wasn't afraid to get into some really big and difficult political issues, but talked just through it really, really carefully and brought us to an immaculate conclusion. We also thought this person had the most success impromptu speech today. It was a clear tale, simply told, with a strong take away message at the end of it about how you can bounce back from mistakes. So for a prepared speech that, we think, did a great job of talking about some enormous and difficult historical and political problems by starting with a grandfather who was raised to only know whiteness and Australia. And then slowly developed to love all things through contact with refugees. We thought that the winner of this year's competition was Alex Nguyen. Congratulations. [INAUDIBLE]

Just stand there for a second. So that's Alex and he's won, I wouldn't let that worry you too much. We thought, like I said, that everybody is just a hair's breadth away from taking this thing out with the various different things that you guys are amazing at. That, by the way, is why we don't tend to announce second places at this stuff because you're all almost exactly there. And you're also all right at the beginning of what, we hope, will be very, very long public speaking and debating careers in New South Wales. Congratulations again to all you guys. We know we are going to see you again and again. And finally, congratulations to Alex from the whole panel.

I now invite back Lloyd Cameron, Jane Simmons, Evelyn [? Margulis, ?] and [? Devpal ?] [? Singh ?] to present the winner with a certificate, a gold medallion, and perpetual trophy.