Sashane wins at International Public Speaking Competition
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Sashane Dassanayake
Competing with students aged 16-20 from over 50 countries including the USA, UK, Canada and Australia, 16-year-old Sashane Dassanayake from Sri Lanka won the International Public Speaking Competition 2025 held at the English-Speaking Union International Headquarters at Dartmouth House, London from May 12-16.
The President of the ESU International is the Princess Royal, Princess Anne.
A student of Lyceum International School, Nugegoda, Sashane’s journey to the global stage began with regional and national rounds, where his charisma and well-researched presentations won over audiences and judges.
His compelling and deeply reflective speech at the final balanced emotional intelligence, global awareness, and a strong personal narrative.
The English Speaking Union of Sri Lanka founded in 1981 by the late Dr T P Amerasinghe, conducts workshops and coaching sessions on public speaking prior to the national competition conducted annually to select the best speaker through an independent panel of adjudicators. Thereafter, the winner is sent to participate at the International Public Speaking Competition which is held in London in May each year.
Sashane welcomed at the BIA, Katunayake on his return by ESU officials, (President – Tilak Amerasinghe and General Secretary – Yasmin Nimaladasa), family members, teachers and school mates.
“I am deeply honoured to bring this title home to
Sri Lanka. This platform gave me the voice to speak not just for myself, but for many young people across the world who are passionate about creating change,” Sashane said.
ESU President Tilak Amerasinghe said the last time that Sri Lanka had a world winner was in 2000 and said he was happy that after a lapse of 25 years Sashane had brought pride and honour to the country and to ESU Sri Lanka.
The International Public Speaking Competition is the largest public speaking competition in the world, involving over 100,000
students in all stages of
the competition.
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