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L'Orient-Le Jour
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Lebanese woman wins speech contest at Panthéon-Sorbonne University
At the end of April, one hour before the contest final, Marianne Saghbini was ready to face her competitors. "I was on the steps of the Panthéon, rehearsing my speech over and over again in front of my friends, who must have heard it at least forty times!" she said. When the moment arrived under the Panthéon's dome, this 20-year-old speaker distinguished herself among the French and international competitors. Following the final arguments, the jury awarded her the Revelation Prize, alongside three other students who were granted the Grand Prize, the AUF Inspiration Prize and the Public Prize. "I have worked hard in recent years to acquire oratory skills and reach this level where I feel comfortable speaking in public, projecting my voice, and most importantly, making sure I am heard. So, winning this prize is a form of international validation of my work. It's also a source of pride to have represented Lebanon and my university, pride in myself as well, in my own journey and my learning," stated Saghbini, who had just earned her degree in political science from Saint Joseph University. Winner of the 2024 9th edition of the International Francophone Debate Championship at USJ, organized in partnership with the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie in the Middle East, she was automatically qualified for the second round of the International Speech Contest and then took part in the semi-final. Organized by Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, this competition brought together students from that university and, thanks to the partnership with AUF, international contestants. Each candidate had to convince and persuade the audience and the jury with their speech, illustrating the art of rhetoric. The finalists had to take on two challenges: one on a topic assigned by the organizers, and the other on a subject they had to choose themselves. During the debate on the assigned topic, tackling the problem, "Is suffering necessary for success?" Saghbini had to defend the negative answer, a duel she won. For the second part of the final, she chose to give praise to nothing. "I thought this subject could be funny!" she exclaimed. What captivated her was the ability of the topic to make people laugh and surprise them, allowing her to infuse a touch of irony into her speech. "With praise for nothing, no one is going to expect what I'll say, since there's nothing to say as such. I can give a definition, but it will only answer itself, since defining nothing ultimately means having nothing," she amusedly recalled, admitting that she enjoyed playing with this ambiguity. "The more I worked on the topic, the more interested I became. I ended up concluding my speech with the idea that nothing is, in the end, everything, and being content with nothing is also having everything. So praising nothing is inherently praising everything. It was an interesting subject, but also quite complicated to work with, which ultimately paid off." One of the keys to a successful speech: making the audience react Accustomed to parliamentary debates with a political tone based on factual information, she quickly realized at the time of the semi-final that she needed to change her approach for this contest. "The biggest challenge was succeeding in integrating the codes of this type of debate. I had to watch competitions from past years and understand their way of debating to learn how to do it," she said. She explained that it was more about "being able to raise or lower your voice, to make the audience cry or laugh," before adding that it's about putting on a performance, hoping for the audience's validation. "So it was important for me to integrate these techniques into my speech, and finally, I think it worked out rather well, because I saw a lot of smiles," she stated, convinced that one of the keys to a successful speech is making the audience react. "I understood that in eloquence competitions, it's important to play on emotions," such as moving from laughter to tragedy and vice versa. Having won the Revelation Prize, Saghbini believes that different skills contributed to this success. During the speech-writing phase, what was necessary was both thorough research and the ability to reflect, and a flair for language characterized by mastery of wordplay, an ironic and humorous tone, as well as a kind of self-mockery. She said that it was also essential to have "a critical mind, about yourself as well as about what you write, to spot flaws in your writing and reasoning," to anticipate possible jury criticism. As for the presentation, it requires "self-control and emotional mastery, being able to calm your nerves," when facing "an audience watching, a jury judging, and teammates who also want to win." At the same time, "being able to play with vocal intonation, hand movements, and body language" was necessary. In short, it was about having "oratory skills and a good presentation of yourself and your speech." The art of eloquence: a matter of transmission From the first year of her political science degree, Saghbini joined the debate club, through which she participated in several training sessions to prepare for inter-faculty competitions. "I remember my first training, where I couldn't even speak for two minutes on an assigned topic, I was shaking so much. As I participated more in the annual competitions, I ended up winning the prize in my third year. There is a big difference between my first debating experience and now, when I can speak in front of 200 people with complete ease," she said. Her interest in debates dates back to high school, when she started a philosophical debate club with the help of her teacher. Inspired by the people she met in her surroundings, from relatives to people she met on the street, as well as her university professors, by their way of speaking and interacting with others, Saghbini wanted to clarify how she views eloquence. "I'm a little afraid that eloquence will be seen as something elitist. For me, eloquence is the taxi driver who can discuss a political topic with good arguments, it's the corner shopkeeper who knows how to sell his products, etc. We Lebanese manage to express ourselves and play on emotions to reach our goals," she stated. She also explained that she was inspired by Dominique de Villepin's speech at the U.N. at the start of the Iraq war. "It struck me in particular, both in what he defended and in his way of expressing it. His speech is always present in my mind. It made me want to develop those same oratorical skills and to build a dialogue where listening and expression are at the heart of the subject," she said. This year, the awardee acted as organizer, jury member and moderator of the 10th edition of the International Francophone Debate Championship at USJ, having served as general secretary of the university's debate club during her final undergraduate year. "It was the beginning of a new journey where I was supporting and guiding students," stated the young woman, always ready to "teach others the skills of eloquence and debate, to help them improve their abilities and pass the torch on." Later, in her academic journey or career, she believes that her acquired skills will always be useful to her. "Eloquence is so broad that it doesn't apply just to an academic or professional setting. Whatever path I take, I will always use the art of eloquence and also try my best to share it with those around me," she said. Une Libanaise lauréate d'un concours d'éloquence de l'université Panthéon-Sorbonne.
National News
15-03-2025
- Politics
- National News
Six European & Arab ambassadors visit Tripoli, tour its old souks on occasion of Francophonie Month
NNA - The Cultural Committee of the Municipality of Tripoli, in cooperation with the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), organized Saturday a tour of Tripoli's old souks to discover the city's treasures and history, marking the Francophonie Month. The tour began at the Rashid Karami Municipal Cultural Center, with the participation of six ambassadors from France, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Armenia. Partaking in the tour was also the Regional Director of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), Jean-Noël Ballieu, and the representative of the International Association of La Francophonie (OIF), Levon Amirjanian, alongside the deans and directors of most universities operating in the North (Lebanese, Balamand, Jesuit, Arab, and Lebanese-French) and several students and civil society activists. In a welcoming word, Francophone Digital Center Director Ziad Naja spoke about the Francophone activities organized in Tripoli and Lebanon. Ballieu, in turn, gave a briefing about the AUF and Amirjanian spoke about the OIF. French Ambassador Hervé Magro then addressed the attendees on behalf of the partaking Francophone ambassadors. He touched on Tripoli's "historic relations with France and the positive change taking place in Lebanon and the region," emphasizing "standing by the city and supporting it at this stage." For his part, the Mayor of Tripoli Riad Yamak welcomed the attendees and spoke about the values of Ramadan and the city's transformation during this holy month. He also touched on Tripoli's history, its pioneering and cultural role, and the capabilities and facilities it possesses that can improve the Lebanese economy as a whole. The Mayor also spoke about the city's decline after independence and the injustice it suffered at the hands of the Lebanese state and its authorities.
