DHA employee becomes first Arab women to win third place in international public speaking contest.

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, August 27, 2013: A DHA employee became the first Arab woman to win the third place at the international public speaking contest.

Shurooq Al Banna, recently won the third place at the  annual International Speech Contest, held by Toastmasters which took place in the United States.

Over 30,000 people from all over the world applied to take part in the contest, of which only 88were shortlisted to battle it out with their war of words to bag the title,  "World Champion of Public Speaking.”

No Arab has ever reached this position in the contest, moreover, no Arab woman has ever crossed the district level and reached the Toastmaster's world championship.

Al Banna said: “ It was an excellent opportunity but also a huge responsibility because I was carrying the voice of seven Arab countries at an international podium. In this contest,  UAE is considered to be part of District 20 which comprises of seven countries in the Middle East including Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan and Qatar. I am very pleased to have reached this level and represent Arab women at such a prestigious event.”

Al Banna has also received the district level  award twice-she won the International Speech Contest at DTAC (District 20 Toastmasters Annual Conference) in 2013 and the Humorous Speech Contest at DTAC in 2012.

She has been taking part in this contest for the past three years and said that she decided to pursue public speaking to hone her communication skills. “ Public speaking has always been a hobby since childhood but initially I only  joined toastmasters to hone my speaking skills. I met several public speakers and was inspired by Kwong Yue Yang.  I soon realized the power of words and how it can inspire millions, that's when I decided to take this profession seriously.”

She added: “A fellow member recommended that I try out for the contests and I ended up winning at every level! I was surprised to reach the World Championship finals.”

 At the world championship, Al Banna's winning speech title was, ‘Finding the Pearl' where she stressed on how important it is to look beyond the exterior / shell and find the goodness in people. “I truly believe that if we all adopted this philosophy and focused on finding this good essence in each other, then life would become more fulfilling and meaningful.”

Recollecting her journey to win the third place, she said: “It definitely wasn't easy but my determination and hard work paid off. Looking back, I remember the sleepless nights, the worry, but most importantly the criticism that I received. I think the criticism was the most difficult part to handle but I have to accept it to evolve, improve and excel. A lot of people get crushed by criticism but I chose to accept it and learn from it.”

Looking ahead Al Banna says she hopes to continue practicing the art of public speaking and to inspire other Arab women to use this as a medium to express themselves.