Isabella Etherington wins United Nations speech award

Isabella competed against three other students from around New Zealand, as they all strove to take out the annual High School Speech Award, ran by The United Nations Assocation of New Zealand. All contestants submitted their speeches online, and Isabella was announced as the winner on Sunday 7 November.

The High School Speech Award is based around major current issues and the ideas shared by the students provide the United Nations with fresh perspectives on the relevance of the UN and how it is viewed by young people today.

Usually, regional finals are held and regional winners are then brought to Wellington for a national competition where they also get to participate in UNA NZ’s national conference and receive a tour of parliament. This year due to Covid-19 the speech awards were held online. The topic this year was:

“The role of the United Nations (and its broader system, including, for example, the World Health Organisation) in addressing global challenges such as Covid-19 reinforces the need for governments, NGO's, the private sector and people everywhere to support and develop the United Nations. What should this support and development look like?”

Congratulations Isabella on winning this prestigious title!