Victor Segalen Eloquence Competition 2024

The second edition of the Victor Segalen eloquence competition was a resounding success, with students, teachers and parents all in attendance. The entire FIS community came together in the Jardine’s auditorium on Thursday 30 May to support and cheer on the seven finalists: Alma Schwab (1C), Julien Frantz (TB), Jingchen Yu (TA), Norah Werno (TA), Aliénor Pabiot (TB), Calie Lassus (1A), Paloma Hesry (TA).

As in previous years, the aim was to unleash creativity and talent in a celebration of eloquence and our literary heritage. Free in form, tone and style, the competition had only one constraint: to remain faithful to the work of Victor Segalen by integrating a chosen quotation into each speech: this year, an enigmatic, prophetic line from the poem Thibet was given pride of place: “the peaks fall, the mire rises, a flat universe is fulfilled”; that said, there was still much to be done for our heralds of the French word and spirit, shining through the prism of their diverse, complex personalities.

The miracle of the contest is renewed each time: speeches and exchanges with the jury follow one another: each finds his or her own way (manifesto, eulogy, philosophical meditation, poem, story, song…) and voice (confidence or connivance, polemic or lyricism…). Each speech is as much a way of saying as it is a way of being. And it is this double epiphany that we were privileged to witness. The jury, made up of seven members of Hong Kong’s French community, faced a real challenge: to decide between our finalists and designate 3 prizes; Alma Brami, the president, was in charge of announcing the results; Aliénor was unanimously crowned for her pataphysics of raclette; respectively second and third, Jingchen and Calie were also singled out for the quality of their intervention of great philosophical depth; finally, the members of the jury were keen to salute all the finalists for the panache and brilliance of their performances. See you next year!