Overview

Public speaking is more than just delivering words—it's about owning your voice, sharing your perspective, and stepping confidently into spaces where ideas matter. For girls, the ability to speak publicly isn't just a skill; it's a catalyst for empowerment, leadership, and self-expression. In a world where female voices have often been sidelined or underestimated, teaching girls the art of effective communication helps them challenge stereotypes, advocate for themselves and others, and inspire change. With this in mind President Joanne Yeoh is keen to encourage regions/countries to host their own public speaking competition.

Submit your Club Entry

To submit entries from your club heat follow this link.  Remember to have the Video, Entry Form and Permission form completed and ready to upload to the website. 

Submit Entry

Theme

"Empowered Voices, Sustainable Choices," encourages young people to explore how individuals and communities can make informed, ethical, and bold decisions that support a more sustainable and equitable future. It also gives Soroptimists the opportunity to hear for themselves the thoughts and aspirations of these leaders of the future.

Two categories:

Category 1 -  Girls aged 12 -15 years. [Three minute talk]. Topic: Small Actions, Big Difference: How I can make the world a better place?

Category 2 - Girls aged 16 - 19 years. [Four minute talk]. Topic: How can young people shape cities that are inclusive, green and resilient?

Guidelines

Clubs should consider taking the following actions to hold a successful Public Speaking competition: 

1. Form a planning team within the country/region to handle logistics, allocate tasks and oversee the running of the competition. There should also be someone on the team who can record the winning speaker’s presentation for submission to the Federation final.
2. Set a date, allowing enough time for preparation and publicity. Consider the impact of school holidays or special holidays that may impact availability of students and judges.
3. Book a venue for the competition- ensure that you are clear about the set up for the event on the day. Walk through the organisation on the day, including tables and chairs and room arrangements.
4. Prepare an Entry Form 
5. Publicise the competition through schools [try to find a specific contact], community groups, and social media.
6. Prepare a list of all participants - recording their details, age, entry category.
7. Countries/regions are encouraged to make contact with Toastmasters chapters in their country/region and to consider inviting them to participate in the selection of a winner.
8. Arrange a panel of judges from educators, Soroptimists, or public speaking professionals and provide them with training in the use of the scoring sheet. The judges scoring sheet and timekeepers scoring sheet and video guidelines can be downloaded in the documents link. 
9. Contenstants will be required to sign a media release consent form.
10. Regions/Countries are encouraged to hold heats from which they should find a winner or max 2 winners to represent them in each category in the Federation level of the competition. 
11. The heats will need to be videod, Videos of their speeches should be submitted by the country or region to SISEAP by 10 December 2025,  
12. Provide recognition: certificates, tokens of appreciation, or small prizes for participants.
13. Consider a thank you gift for the judges

 SISEAP Federation Final

The Federation judges will use the country / region submitted videos of the finalists to judge the Federation winners. 

All submitted videos will be considered to be showcased in the planned Federation Education Day campaign on the 24th January 2026.  

How will SISEAP judge the submitted videos.

The basis of the winning speech will be a 100 point marking guide comprising the following criteria:

Content relevance & clarity               25

Organisation of ideas                        20

Delivery & confidence                       25

Language & articulation                    20

Impact & originality                           10

The Federation Grand Final winners will receive the following prizes per category:

First prize              $200AUD

Second Prize         $150AUD

Third Prize            $100AUD

Submitting your entry to the competition

1. Submit a short summary of your participant(s) (max 250 words) with their names, age, and contact details and a photo of selected winners.
2. Submit the video of their speeches by 10 December 2025 - a link will be provided.
3. Each participant completed consent form for use of Personal Data and Media consent form, must accompany the submission.

By participating in the Public Speaking Competition, all participants (or their guardians, if under 18) consent to the collection, use, and dissemination of their:

• Photographs and videos taken during the event.
• Names and speech titles for promotional or reporting purposes.

These may be published in:

• Official websites, newsletters, or reports.
• Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
• Other communication channels deemed appropriate by SISEAP.

This consent is granted without compensation. Participants who do not wish for their image or data to be used must notify SISEAP in writing before the competition date. SISEAP will handle all data in accordance with privacy and data protection guidelines.

More detailed guidelines will be available for participating regions by contacting the following members of the committee Anne Allen  or Cesarina Gigante 

Documents

pdf Public speaking competition consent form(138 KB)

document SISEAP Public Speaking Competition Entry Form(475 KB)

document Club Region Country example Entry Form docx(805 KB)

spreadsheet Time keepers Sheet(7 KB)

spreadsheet MARKING GUIDE FED 1(343 KB)

document Time keeper general info(343 KB) document Video Guidelines(343 KB)

Soroptimists respond to Disaster.  The Disaster response from the SISEAP Federation target the special needs of women and girls recovering from the effects of natural disasters.  The Disaster response actions demonstrate the capacity of Soroptimists to identify and efficiently respond, it is both rewarding and stressful.  

These are Project reports from Clubs around the Federation on their Disaster Response

Soroptimist work to improve the lives of women and girls through the Programme of Service, this service covers a broad spectrum of issues and concerns within 8 Objectives.  Women and Girls are faced with many issues, Soorptimists focus their efforts on these and develop projects that meet the specific needs of their communities.  Special Consultative status provides SISEAP with access to not only ECOSOC, but also to its many subsidiary bodies, Soroptimists engage with UN entities to implement change. 

Through the programme of service, reporting on the work we do system ensures that the collective efforts can be used to advocate for social change at local, national and international levels. Position Statements on issues of global concern are published collectively in "Where We Stand", poisition papers, read the Soroptimist stance on various issues that affect the lives of women and girls.

8 Objectives of Program Delivery 

• Education
• Elimination of violence
• Economic empowerment
• Food security
• Healthcare
• Environmental sustainability, water and sanitation
• Conflict resolution/peace promotion
• Disaster relief, mitigation and resilience

The work achieved through these projects provides opportunities to Educate, Empower and Enable women and girls to plan for their future and, allows for their econonic growth and opens doors to their dreams.

Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific works with other Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and has representation at meetings of UN agencies committees and commissions and or at major forums on specific issues. This provides members opportunities for awareness of global issues and ongoing involvement in attempts to address them. Soroptimist International joins with women worldwide to ensure the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women through the implementation of the Platform for Action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Learn more about the projects we deliver to benefit women and girls through the 13 countries in the Federation South East Asia Pacific 

The Federation project enables all Clubs to contribute to significant project that will have a positive, lasting effect on the lives of women and girls. The project is implemented in one of our member countries and is overseen by the nominating Club. The project is funded by money donated to the special fund and regular updates on progress are published along with a final report.

All Clubs can nominate a project that is related to our Goals and Objectives and meets the established and published criteria for the Federation project. Nominations are assessed by a panel of experienced Soroptimist using the published criteria. The successful project is announced at the Biennium Conference

Past projects have had a significant impact in countries across our Federation and have reflected the range of work that Soroptimists undertake, and the great improvement made in the lives of women and girls. Information about these projects can be found on the Past Federation Projects page 

Our current Federation project "The Brilliant Futures Fund", demonstrates these qualities.

The current SISEAP Federation project (2021-2026)  is the Brilliant Futures Fund, this project provides opportunities for clubs to nominate a project which required funding to be implement.   There have been 3 rounds of nominations.  Successful projects have delivered vocational training, health and reproductive training, depression and mental health.

Donations to the Brilliant Futures Fund assist us in delivering this life changing work 

Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific, Best Practice Awards are a celebration of the work of Clubs throughout the Federation. It achnowledges expertise in the planning and process of creating an effective project.

It serves also as an inspiration to the Clubs of what can be achieved with careful planning and can stimulate a willingness to undertake something different and challenging in their own Clubs.

Over the decades there have been many Federation Projects.  These projects are club driven, clubs have the opportunity to  nominate a project, and all clubs vote on the chosen project for a biennium, at times the project has continued through other bienniums.  The projects exclimify the work by dedicated Soroptiimist volunteers, with the goals to provide opportunities to Educate, Empower and Enable women and girls to plan for their future, allows for their economic growth and opens doors to their dreams.

Fiji has one of the highest incidents of domestic violence.  Fiji has an average rate of 64 per cent of women who have been in an intimate relationship resulting in physical and sexual violence.  The global average is 1 in 3 and FIji is double that at 6 in 10 women.  Action by the Fijian Soroptimists was to nominate Sanctuary Shelter for Women as the Federation Proejct for 2016.  This project would build Fiji's first every shelter home for domestic victims.  

The successful nominatied project in 2010 voted on by clubs was the "Birthing in the Pacific" a project which will focus on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 – Improve Maternal Health. The BIP project will endeavour to minimise /reduce the risk of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality by improving maternity skills of midwives and training village birthing attendants in Papua New Guinea 
 

Every 2 years Clubs are able to nominate a project for Soroptimists from the South East Asia Pacific Federation to support. These projects are implement by a Soroptimist Club in the geographical area. There have been many projects since 1979.  These projects met the 8 Objectives of SI as well as the MDG's and now the SDG's. Thousands of women and children have benefited by these projects which have Educated, Enabled and Empowered them.