Speech prepared? Check. Confidence in place? Check. And ready to dazzle? Check!  This is a checklist many eager scholars from North West are ticking in preparation for the Anglo American Young Communicator Ambassadors (YCA) to be held on 19 May, 2012 at the North West Provincial Legislature in Mmabatho.

Following the successful completion of the workshops and district eliminations, North West’s budding speakers will now compete in an intense provincial final, in which they will be required to present a speech of between three and five minutes, as well as participate an impromptu debate on current affairs. A well-informed opinion, confidence, and the ability to successfully articulate a point of view, will be the deciding factor for the speakers to win the adjudicators’ nod of approval to be flown to Gauteng to represent North West at the YCA national finals.

The overall winner will walk away with a R65,000 bursary towards his or her first year tertiary studies and will be eligible to apply for full Anglo American second and third year tertiary study bursaries. In addition, the national YCA winner will receive R20,000 for his or her school.

Now in its 19th year, the competition, which is sponsored by Anglo American and presented in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DoBE) and media partner, The Sowetan, strives to help the youth find their voice through public speaking and to use their talents and visions to shape a bright future for themselves and their communities.

DoBE North West provincial co-ordinator Boitumelo Kgosiemang notes that the competition is proving vital to the development of people in the province.

“Numerous young people and teachers in the North West have directly benefited from participating in the YCA, as many of them are not regularly exposed to reading, writing and communicating in English.

“The YCA has not only significantly raised their proficiency in English, but has also improved the learners’ confidence levels and assertiveness.”

“Subsequently, the learners are now equipped with the skills to perform better in their exams, and create highly successful careers for themselves“
Godfrey Gomwe, executive director of Anglo American in South Africa says that the YCA has a widespread and considerable impact on the country’s development.

“The YCA provides a unique glimpse into the lives of the youth of South Africa, as they not only share the challenges and successes that they experience in their communities, but offer solutions, insights and show natural leadership.  This provides hope for the future of our country as the talent inherent in these individuals can only lead to the development of a generation poised to lead South Africa into a new era of change and success.

“It is for this reason that we are proud of our commitment and support to the YCA and will continue to support this initiative and many like it in order to promote the growth and development of the youth.”

Ends

For further information, please contact:

South Africa

Hulisani Rasivhaga, Media Relations
Tel: +27 (0)11 638 4401

Notes to editors:

Anglo American is one of the world’s largest mining companies, is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Anglo American’s portfolio of mining businesses spans bulk commodities – iron ore and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal coal; base metals – copper and nickel; and precious metals and minerals – in which it is a global leader in both platinum and diamonds. Anglo American is committed to the highest standards of safety and responsibility across all its businesses and geographies and to making a sustainable difference in the development of the communities around its operations. The company’s mining operations, extensive pipeline of growth projects and exploration activities span southern Africa, South America, Australia, North America, Asia and Europe. www.angloamerican.com