January 03, 2023

     The community that I am going to do research on for project 2 is going to be based on an event that occurs every March called World Speech Day. This is a celebration of speeches and speechmaking through events held across the world. At my high school for the past two years, we held World Speech Day celebrations organized by the speech and debate team to spread the word about the events. We would have students perform speeches and we would make a promotional video that discusses what World Speech Day means to the students and what it is all really about. I don’t think there are any current observations of World Speech Day here at FSU, but I plan on joining the speech and debate team here next year and I hope to assist them in spreading awareness so that more and more people become aware of the impact World Speech Day has.

     For my research project, I want to dig deeper into what people involved with World Speech Day do, and how it affects the lives of people all over the world. World Speech Day focuses on a lot of countries that do not have the same free speech rights that many countries like America have, so I want to look into how these events affect their communities. For my interview, I want to talk to some of the students I worked with on planning our World Speech Day events, and try and get into contact with the high school coordinator who reaches out and helps students spread awareness.

February 23, 2023

     For my project 2 interview, I talked to my good friend Michael Bole. He is currently a junior in high school at Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, where I graduated from. I chose to interview Michael because his freshman year, he was the first person who introduced me to World Speech Day. Before he organized the first celebration, I had known nothing about the events that happened all across the country. I talked to Michael about how he originally learned about World Speech Day and he told me about how he heard about it through the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), which we were both members of because we competed in speech and debate together. It was the NSDA’s first year assisting in a worldwide celebration and Michael decided to get Dreyfoos involved.

     “What made me want to get involved in World Speech Day was how unique the event was. There are days like ‘National Donut Day’ and ‘National Pizza Day’ which some may celebrate, but a day that is dedicated to the power of the voice was so compelling and exciting that I had to find a way to participate and get involved.” Michael used his resourced at school to set up a photo booth, create a promotional video where he interviewed other speech and debate students, and put it on the school’s daily announcements show. From there, word of the celebration spread all around the school and Dreyfoos’ first ever World Speech Day had a great turn out. Students of all different majors came out to support their peers as they performed speeches and informed the students about what world speech was all about: the power of the voice. “World Speech Day, as an international celebration, doesn’t have so much of a focus on the freedom of speech in the U.S (while some who celebrate may focus on that aspect) but rather the power of the voice as a whole and how people can utilize it. It’s so important at a time like this for people to be able to voice what they believe in and understand that no matter how short their sentence, how loud they speak, or who hears them, their voice has the power to change the world.” Michael’s emphasis on how important it is that people understand that they have the power to use their voices is the basis of what I want to write my project 2 paper on. His insights are going to provide really good background and support for my paper because I can use them help readers understand exactly what World Speech Day is and why it is so important that more people become aware of it.

     From interviewing Michael, I think that we discussed some really awesome things about World Speech Day that will be helpful when writing and researching for project 2. “World Speech Day is so important and I really hope schools and groups across the world will give the day their own meaning and find a way to participate.”

May 28, 2023

     On March 15th, there is a celebration across the world that many people don’t even know exists, especially since it is fairly new. To most Americans, it can seem arbitrary, but to the people that appreciate this day, it is one of great importance. World Speech Day (WSD) is a day to celebrate the public speakers of this world and the speeches they write and present. Started in 2015, the organizers of World Speech Day work to emphasize the importance of our freedom to speak our minds and the power of a person’s voice.

      “I first heard about World Speech Day through the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) a few years ago when they announced that it would be their first year celebrating across the globe. What made me want to get involved in World Speech Day was how unique the event was. There are days like ‘National Donut Day’ and ‘National Pizza Day,’ which some may celebrate, but a day that is dedicated to the power of the voice was so compelling and exciting that I had to find a way to participate and get involved,” WSD high school coordinator, Michael Bole said.

     The community of people who celebrate WSD are ones looking to change the world. These people are taking something that may seem so simple, such as public speaking, and making sure that the people who have the ability and opportunity to do so, understand just how much power it has. In America, we are fortunate enough to possess First Amendment rights, which include the freedom of speech. However, in countries such as Gambia and Turkey, they don’t have those rights. So, it is up to what the WSD organization calls “unexpected voices,” to speak out for them. Their slogan, “break the silence” empower students across the world to participate in spreading the word about the celebration.

     My involvement with WSD started my junior year of high school, only the second year WSD was in existence. We held a celebration on campus where we wore shirts and had students take pictures, appreciating our unexpected voices. The event was organized by my friend Michael Bole, who spent countless hours trying to ensure that the message of WSD was properly voiced on our high school campus. He really wanted people to understand how key a day like World Speech Day is.

     “I first heard about World Speech Day through the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) a few years ago when they announced that it would be their first year celebrating across the globe. I got involved in my first WSD celebration was through getting the word out the first year that a day like this even existed,” Bole said. “I had made a sign, gotten a Photo Booth set up, and aired a promo video on my school’s announcements. The following year I wanted to bring more importance to the celebration by hosting a speech showcase where students were able to spread their message and opinions to an audience.”

May 28, 2023

Gayle, Barbara Mae. "Transformations in a Civil Discourse Public Speaking Class: Speakers' and Listeners' Attitude Change." Communication Education 53.2 (2004): 174-84. Web.

This text can be used to analyze how students learn about public speaking, especially since World Speech Day programs are with high schools and start with education of what it is all really about. An algorithm is used to analyze how listeners react to the subject material and it is a really interesting way to look at how public speaking can affect students and their education in school. Using this information for my project 2 paper can help support implementing World Speech Day programs into more schools.

Hostinar, Camelia E., et al. "Cortisol Responses to a Group Public Speaking Task for Adolescents: Variations by Age, Gender, and Race." Psychoneuroendocrinology 50 (2014): 155-66. Web.

In this journal, it provides some psychological aspects of public speaking and how it affects their stress by certain classifications. I can use some information in this to talk about how public speaking maybe be stressful for some people, it can also be an indicator of someone’s ability to impact the people around. This journal isn’t exactly 100 percent relevant to my project 2, but I can still use the information and background for reference.

Houghton, Claire. "Young People's Perspectives on Participatory Ethics: Agency, Power and Impact in Domestic Abuse Research and Policy-Making." Child Abuse Review 24.4 (2015): 235-48. Web.

I think this source can be pretty important because it addresses “the power of the voice” in a whole new way. This influence comes from the ability of students, like the ones celebrating World Speech Day, using their voices to change policy and alter legislation for a change. The studies done in this show how students view their own voices and whether or not they feel the impact they can have on issues, such as domestic abuse in this case. When doing research on how children compare to adults in these sort of situations, it is interesting to see how people view the power of their voice and the impact it can have, whether or not they think it is going to make a change.

Interview with Michael Bole, High School Coordinator for World Speech Day at Dreyfoos

When interviewing Michael, we discussed what influenced his involvement with World Speech Day and how he discovered their work with high school to implement awareness celebrations at their schools. He talked about how much work went into prepping for the celebration. He would have to make flyers, shirts, a promotional video, and organize performances from students on the speech and debate team. World Speech Day was really important to Michael as a speech and debate student because his experiences in debate were what brought him to appreciate his rights of free speech, especially with everything that is going on in the world right now. It is important for people to use their voices and understand that they have the right to, unlike other countries that World Speech Day attempts to break the silence for. He also talked about how World Speech is not so much of addressing free speech, but looking at the power of the voice and how it is important that we use our voices.

Johnson, Eric M. "Examining Blasphemy: International Law, National Security and the U.S. Foreign Policy regarding Free Speech." Air Force Law Review 71 (2014): 25. ProQuest Central K12. Web.

This document provides background information of foreign policies involving freedom of expression and speech. It outlines specific constitutional situations in which certain rights established by The Human Rights Committee. These policies apply to my project 2 because they address some key factors in why the people with the World Speech Day organization, like Michael do what they do. This also relates to back to “The State of Free Speech in Australia” because it addresses the complications with hate speech, without explicitly calling it hate speech. In all the different governments and their international laws involving free speech, I ca use this information to thoroughly breakdown the work that World Speech Day has done through their celebrations to appreciate the power of the voice and how to use it.

Kendrick, Leslie. "Are Speech Rights for Speakers?" Virginia Law Review 103.8 (2017): 1767-809. Web.

I really like this source because I think it addresses a really interesting and important point of view that could be really helpful in my project 2 paper. In those countries that World Speech Day works to assist, their speech rights are extremely limited, yet they hold the celebrations for public speakers, supporting the questions raised in this journal, “are speech rights for speakers?” This journal is incredibly interesting because it breaks down the concept of free speech in an extremely abstract way and I think that this is going to be really good for my project 2 paper.

Long, Aoife. "Yes, You can the Secrets of Public Speaking." Engineers Journal 64.1 (2010): 53. Web.

The most significant information I can acquire from this source is just some background information on public speaking. This is relevant to my project because World Speech Day is a celebration of speech writers and their performances around the world, so having some information to go along with that and how to successfully write a speech.

Olawoyin, Oladeinde. “Ibadan prepares for World speech Day 2017.” Premium Times Nigeria, 6

Mar. 2017, www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/artsbooks/225297-ibadan-prepares-world-speech-day-2017.html.

In this article, Olawoyin goes into detail about how the African country of Idaban prepares for their World Speech Day celebration. World Speech Day is a celebration of speeches written and performed around the world in an appreciation of free speech privileges, seeing that some countries don’t have the same rights. In countries such as Ibadan, these celebrations are a much larger deal than they would be in somewhere like the United States because the rights that they have are more recent and cherished by members of their society. Countries across the globe hold events similar to these where they have guest speakers to call on the “unexpected voices.”

Romano, Tom. "The Power of Voice." Educational Leadership 62.2 (2004): 20-3. Web.

The main purpose of this article is to emphasize the theme in my research paper of, “the power of the voice.” Romano places a huge focus in this article about how students need to develop more than just the basic writing skills, but a “presence on the page.” This comes into play when students are speaking as well. His perspective as a teacher provides an important insight on how teachers view their students and the voices they possess. Although this article is about writing, specifically, I think it is still relevant to World Speech Day, because in the celebration of speech writers and givers across the globe, that same idea of presence because extremely essential in what kind of audience you are trying reach with your words.

Wilson, Tom. "The State of Free Speech in Australia." Policy: A Journal of Public Policy and Ideas 31.1 (2015): 3-6. Web.

“The State of Free Speech in Australia” is a journal addressing the difference between hate speech and free speech in Australia. Wilson uses the situation of Charlie Hebdo, a shooting in Paris in 2015 to display what hate speech can look like through action. This can be relevant to my project 2 topic because I can use the concept of hate speech to outline how the power of the voice that is promoted in World Speech Day can be used to fight hate speech. These laws that indicate the difference between what is hate speech and what is considered free speech, highlight an important aspect of what World Speech Day is all about across the country.

May 28, 2023

On March 15th, there is a celebration across the world that many people don’t even know exists, especially since it is fairly new. To most Americans, it may seem arbitrary, but to the people that appreciate this day, it is one of great importance. World Speech Day (WSD) is day to celebrate the public speakers of this world and they speeches they write and present. Started in 2015, the organizers of World Speech Day work to emphasize the importance of our freedom to speak our minds and the power of a person’s voice.

      “I first heard about World Speech Day through the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) a few years ago when they announced that it would be their first year celebrating across the globe. What made me want to get involved in World Speech Day was how unique the event was. There are days like ‘National Donut Day’ and ‘National Pizza Day,’ which some may celebrate, but a day that is dedicated to the power of the voice was so compelling and exciting that I had to find a way to participate and get involved,” WSD high school coordinator, Michael Bole said.

     The community of people who celebrate WSD are ones looking to change the world. These people are taking something that may seem so simple, such as public speaking, and making sure that the people who have the ability and opportunity to do so, understand just how much power it has. In America, we are fortunate enough to possess First Amendment rights, which include the freedom of speech. However, in countries such as Gambia and Turkey, the don’t have those rights. So, it is up to what the WSD organization calls “unexpected voices,” to speak out for them. Their slogan, “break the silence” empower students across the world to participate in spreading the word about the celebration.

     My involvement with WSD started my junior year of high school, only the second year WSD was in existence. We held a celebration on campus where we wore shirts and had students take pictures, appreciating our unexpected voices. The event was organized by my friend Michael Bole, who spent countless hours trying to ensure that the message of WSD was properly voiced on our high school campus. He really wanted people to understand how key a day like World Speech Day is.

     “I first heard about World Speech Day through the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) a few years ago when they announced that it would be their first year celebrating across the globe. I got involved in my first WSD celebration through getting the word out the first year that a day like this even existed,” Bole said. “I had made a sign, gotten a Photo Booth set up, and aired a promo video on my school’s announcements. The following year I wanted to bring more importance to the celebration by hosting a speech showcase where students were able to spread their message and opinions to an audience.”

     Countries across the globe have their own WSD celebrations. For example, in Idaban, Nigeria’s 2017 event, they hosted guest speakers of all sorts of speech related backgrounds to speak about their voices and the power that they have. “The World Speech Day is a global event for celebration of speeches and speech making. The day was set aside by the United States Senate to promote equality of opinions through speech and presentations. In an exclusive chat with PREMIUM TIMES, Rasheed Ridwon, the event facilitator, said the event will be holding in over 11 locations in Nigeria. He added that thousands of events will also hold around the globe simultaneously, as speakers will offer ideas for societal progress and development. ‘The overall goal is to host a dynamic, inclusive, inspiring event with many short speeches, wide range of contrasting topics, positive and encouraging, and above all reaching out to unexpected voices,’ Mr. Ridwon said,” (Olawoyin).

     The events in multiple cities throughout Nigeria help to show just how meaningful WSD has become for some communities. The ideas of bringing to light the importance of someone’s voice and the power their opinions have proven to be an incredible way to bring communities together in the fight for the unexpected voices. Not only were the Nigerian events, successful, but there were other celebrations in Athens, Iraq, and more.

     The most prominent thing that catches my eye within the World Speech Day community is the concept of the power of the voice. I think a lot of the time, we don’t believe our opinions are important or they may be irrelevant to what is happening in the world around us. However, WSD works to make sure people begin to realize that it should be the exact opposite of that. What we have to say is absolutely important and whether or not we think someone cares about what we have to say, we should never stop speaking our minds and standing up for what we believe in.

     “When I read what I had written, I heard my own voice. More remarkable still, I could give my written words to others and they, too, quickened to the voice I'd created on the page.

More than 20 years ago, in his groundbreaking book Writing: Teachers and Children at Work (1983), Donald Graves maintained that voice was the dynamo in the writing process. Fifth grade teacher and writing consultant Jack Wilde (Kentucky Educational Television, 2004) says that the primary motivation for his students to write is voice. Not grades. Not praise. Not threats. Not deadlines. Voice. The chance to be known. The chance to put the linguistic muscle to use as a communicator. Voice and an appreciative audience drove my writing in 7th grade. Teachers at every grade level can take a lesson here. Voice is the key to helping our students develop into writers. We must give them opportunities to hear their own written voices and the written voices of others--their peers, their teachers, and the best authors,” (Romano).

     For me, the power of the voice and the influence of World Speech Day has not pushed me towards joining the collegiate speech and debate community, but the activist community. As I have gotten older, I have started to become more knowledgeable on the political state of our country, as well as others. I have become passionate about a lot of different issues that I want to help with. So, in joining the activist community, I want to march, protest, and join organizations that are pushing legislation changes that align with my political views. I want to be a part of the change that students like me are working to create, now more than ever. I marched for the first time not that long ago and it was a truly humbling and life-changing experience. I personally think it would have taken me much longer to come to this conclusion had I not been a part of the World Speech Day community in high school. Realizing the power of my voice and what I have to say matters came partly from my experiences with World Speech Day. I hope that WSD starts to become a more prominent celebration across the world because it is so important that people realize the impact they can have on the world and the changes that they can make with just a few words.

     When making a promotional video for WSD last year, my friend Matt (who I was helping make the video), asked me if I wanted to be one of the interviews we did. When asked why I celebrate World Speech Day, I said, “I celebrate World Speech Day because I am someone who believes that voices are some of the strongest things that we have. Being able to speak our minds and being able to express our visions and [even] say words is such a privilege because we [in America] have been so privileged by our First Amendment rights, that we have the opportunity to say what we want to say. I am someone who believes that if you want something to change, you speak out for it and you stand there and say, ‘I want to make a change’ and you can because people will listen to you and people will work with you to make that change possible. I celebrate World Speech Day so that I can inflict change on this world.”

     To this day, I stand by that statement. I want to be a part of a community that pushes for change and isn’t afraid to fight for what they believe in. Since learning about World Speech Day, I have come to appreciate the power in my voice. Understanding my ability to speak out has made me a more confident, strong, and productive member of society. I want to help others realize that they are capable of the same. I have used speech and debate and journalism to express my ideas and my visions for this world. I am ready to take all the passion I have for those arts and the issues I care about and bring it out into the community here at Florida State University.

January 01, 2020

     On March 15th, there is a celebration across the world that many people don’t even know exists, especially since it is fairly new. To most Americans, it may seem arbitrary, but to the people that appreciate this day, it is one of great importance. World Speech Day (WSD) is day to celebrate the public speakers of this world and they speeches they write and present. Started in 2015, the organizers of World Speech Day work to emphasize the importance of our freedom to speak our minds and the power of a person’s voice.

      “I first heard about World Speech Day through the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) a few years ago when they announced that it would be their first year celebrating across the globe. What made me want to get involved in World Speech Day was how unique the event was. There are days like ‘National Donut Day’ and ‘National Pizza Day,’ which some may celebrate, but a day that is dedicated to the power of the voice was so compelling and exciting that I had to find a way to participate and get involved,” WSD high school coordinator, Michael Bole said.

     The community of people who celebrate WSD are ones looking to change the world. These people are taking something that may seem so simple, such as public speaking, and making sure that the people who have the ability and opportunity to do so, understand just how much power it has. In America, we are fortunate enough to possess First Amendment rights, which include the freedom of speech. However, in countries such as Gambia and Turkey, the don’t have those rights. So, it is up to what the WSD organization calls “unexpected voices,” to speak out for them. Their slogan, “break the silence” empower students across the world to participate in spreading the word about the celebration.

     My involvement with WSD started my junior year of high school, only the second year WSD was in existence. We held a celebration on campus where we wore shirts and had students take pictures, appreciating our unexpected voices. The event was organized by my friend Michael Bole, who spent countless hours trying to ensure that the message of WSD was properly voiced on our high school campus. He really wanted people to understand how key a day like World Speech Day is.

     “I first heard about World Speech Day through the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) a few years ago when they announced that it would be their first year celebrating across the globe. I got involved in my first WSD celebration through getting the word out the first year that a day like this even existed,” Bole said. “I had made a sign, gotten a Photo Booth set up, and aired a promo video on my school’s announcements. The following year I wanted to bring more importance to the celebration by hosting a speech showcase where students were able to spread their message and opinions to an audience.”

     Countries across the globe have their own WSD celebrations. For example, in Idaban, Nigeria’s 2017 event, they hosted guest speakers of all sorts of speech related backgrounds to speak about their voices and the power that they have. “The World Speech Day is a global event for celebration of speeches and speech making. The day was set aside by the United States Senate to promote equality of opinions through speech and presentations. In an exclusive chat with PREMIUM TIMES, Rasheed Ridwon, the event facilitator, said the event will be holding in over 11 locations in Nigeria. He added that thousands of events will also hold around the globe simultaneously, as speakers will offer ideas for societal progress and development. ‘The overall goal is to host a dynamic, inclusive, inspiring event with many short speeches, wide range of contrasting topics, positive and encouraging, and above all reaching out to unexpected voices,’ Mr. Ridwon said,” (Olawoyin).

     The events in multiple cities throughout Nigeria help to show just how meaningful WSD has become for some communities. The ideas of bringing to light the importance of someone’s voice and the power their opinions have proven to be an incredible way to bring communities together in the fight for the unexpected voices. Not only were the Nigerian events, successful, but there were other celebrations in Athens, Iraq, and more.

     The most prominent thing that catches my eye within the World Speech Day community is the concept of the power of the voice. I think a lot of the time, we don’t believe our opinions are important or they may be irrelevant to what is happening in the world around us. However, WSD works to make sure people begin to realize that it should be the exact opposite of that. What we have to say is absolutely important and whether or not we think someone cares about what we have to say, we should never stop speaking our minds and standing up for what we believe in.

     “When I read what I had written, I heard my own voice. More remarkable still, I could give my written words to others and they, too, quickened to the voice I'd created on the page.

More than 20 years ago, in his groundbreaking book Writing: Teachers and Children at Work (1983), Donald Graves maintained that voice was the dynamo in the writing process. Fifth grade teacher and writing consultant Jack Wilde (Kentucky Educational Television, 2004) says that the primary motivation for his students to write is voice. Not grades. Not praise. Not threats. Not deadlines. Voice. The chance to be known. The chance to put the linguistic muscle to use as a communicator. Voice and an appreciative audience drove my writing in 7th grade. Teachers at every grade level can take a lesson here. Voice is the key to helping our students develop into writers. We must give them opportunities to hear their own written voices and the written voices of others--their peers, their teachers, and the best authors,” (Romano).

     For me, the power of the voice and the influence of World Speech Day has not pushed me towards joining the collegiate speech and debate community, but the activist community. As I have gotten older, I have started to become more knowledgeable on the political state of our country, as well as others. I have become passionate about a lot of different issues that I want to help with. So, in joining the activist community, I want to march, protest, and join organizations that are pushing legislation changes that align with my political views. I want to be a part of the change that students like me are working to create, now more than ever. When I marched for the first time for a cause I was truly passionate about, it was a truly humbling and life-changing experience. Joining on-campus organizations that support the kinds of issues I am interested will help me to be a part of this community. However, there is a big difference between being a member of the activist community and being supportive. Not only does marching make you a member of the community, but you also have to call your legislators and push them to make the changes you are fighting for. They are the ones who can help make the direct changes and there is the possibility that if you don’t reach out to them, they might not work for the changes that better the people, but better themselves. I want to be an active member; one who participates to the fullest of my capability. I personally think it would have taken me much longer to come to this conclusion had I not been a part of the World Speech Day community in high school. Realizing the power of my voice and what I have to say matters came partly from my experiences with World Speech Day. I hope that WSD starts to become a more prominent celebration across the world because it is so important that people realize the impact they can have on the world and the changes that they can make with just a few words.

     In the weeks before World Speech Day my senior year of high school, my friend Matt and I decided to help Michael get the word out about the celebration to the school. To do so, we got a group of students together and asked them about what this celebration meant to them. When making the promotional video for WSD asked me if I wanted to be one of the interviews we did. When asked why I celebrate World Speech Day, I said, “I celebrate World Speech Day because I am someone who believes that voices are some of the strongest things that we have. Being able to speak our minds and being able to express our visions and [even] say words is such a privilege because we [in America] have been so privileged by our First Amendment rights, that we have the opportunity to say what we want to say. I am someone who believes that if you want something to change, you speak out for it and you stand there and say, ‘I want to make a change’ and you can because people will listen to you and people will work with you to make that change possible. I celebrate World Speech Day so that I can inflict change on this world.”

     This video turned out to be not only a success, but an emotional experience for us making it. The video was all over the Facebook as the finished product was released, and the word of world speech day spread around my hometown community like wildfire. In terms of the emotional experience behind making this promotional video, it really helped us to realize how fortunate we are to be able to express ourselves the way we do. While we all, in this country, hold the freedom and opportunity to express themselves, they don’t truly realize the potential that their voices heard. For me and my peers, our background in speech and debate allowed us to realize our abilities without seeing that others don’t know they have the same opportunity. With this video, we were able to show our campus just how powerful their voices can be. If they didn’t know it before, they definitely knew it after watching their peers talk about what World Speech Day meant to them. I was lucky enough to have the perspective in which I knew I had the vocal power to speak out and being able to share that with my classmates and community was such an amazing experience. This film was our text. It was our way to reach out to the community around us and spread the message and power of World Speech Day. Film as a text can be extremely impactful on communities in a different way than a flyer or written text. Viewers could see the faces of students their age, younger, and older, express what speech means to them and how they too can use it to inflict change, or even just do a speech presentation in class. World Speech Day isn’t just about trying help people realize that they can speak up, but it is about appreciate those who are speaking out for those who can’t, and for people to truly understand that what you have to say is important, whether you think people care or not. People will listen to you and being able to show my community that is possible, was truly incredible for me and Matt while making this video.

     To this day, I stand by that statement. I want to be a part of a community that pushes for change and isn’t afraid to fight for what they believe in. Since learning about World Speech Day, I have come to appreciate the power in my voice. Understanding my ability to speak out has made me a more confident, strong, and productive member of society. I want to help others realize that they are capable of the same. I have used speech and debate and journalism to express my ideas and my visions for this world. I am ready to take all the passion I have for those arts and the issues I care about and bring it out into the community here at Florida State University.

January 01, 2020

     On March 15th, there is a celebration across the world that many people don’t even know exists, especially since it is fairly new. As people become more outspoken about policies and the issues happening in countries all over the world, a day such as this one may be one of the most important holidays we can observe. But, to most Americans, it may seem arbitrary, but to the people that appreciate this day, it is one of great importance. World Speech Day is day to celebrate the public speakers of this world and they speeches they write and present. Started in 2015, the organizers of World Speech Day work to emphasize the importance of our freedom to speak our minds and the power of a person’s voice.

      “I first heard about World Speech Day through the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) a few years ago when they announced that it would be their first year celebrating across the globe. What made me want to get involved in World Speech Day was how unique the event was. There are days like ‘National Donut Day’ and ‘National Pizza Day,’ which some may celebrate, but a day that is dedicated to the power of the voice was so compelling and exciting that I had to find a way to participate and get involved,” World Speech Day high school coordinator for Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Michael Bole said.

     The community of people who celebrate World Speech Day are ones looking to show the world that the voices of the people have more potential than people seem to realize. These people are taking something that may seem so simple, such as public speaking, and making sure that the people who have the ability and opportunity to do so, understand just how much power it has. In America, we are fortunate enough to possess First Amendment rights, which include the freedom of speech. This helps us understand that we have the right to speak our minds and create conversations with one another. However, in countries such as Gambia and Turkey, they don’t have those rights. So, it is up to what the World Speech Day organization calls “unexpected voices,” to speak out for them. Their slogan, “break the silence” empower students across the world to participate in spreading the word about the celebration.

     My involvement with World Speech Day started my junior year of high school, only the second year World Speech Day was in existence. We held a celebration on campus where we wore shirts and had students take pictures, appreciating our unexpected voices. The event was organized by my friend Michael Bole, who spent countless hours trying to ensure that the message of World Speech Day was properly voiced on our high school campus. He really wanted people to understand how key a day like World Speech Day is.

     “I first heard about World Speech Day through the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) a few years ago when they announced that it would be their first year celebrating across the globe. I got involved in my first World Speech Day celebration through getting the word out the first year that a day like this even existed,” Bole said. “I had made a sign, gotten a Photo Booth set up, and aired a promo video on my school’s announcements. The following year I wanted to bring more importance to the celebration by hosting a speech showcase where students were able to spread their message and opinions to an audience.”

     Countries across the globe have their own World Speech Day celebrations. For example, in Idaban, Nigeria’s 2017 event, they hosted guest speakers of all sorts of speech related backgrounds to speak about their voices and the power that they have. “The World Speech Day is a global event for celebration of speeches and speech making. The day was set aside by the United States Senate to promote equality of opinions through speech and presentations. In an exclusive chat with PREMIUM TIMES, Rasheed Ridwon, the event facilitator, said the event will be holding in over 11 locations in Nigeria. He added that thousands of events will also hold around the globe simultaneously, as speakers will offer ideas for societal progress and development. ‘The overall goal is to host a dynamic, inclusive, inspiring event with many short speeches, wide range of contrasting topics, positive and encouraging, and above all reaching out to unexpected voices,’ Mr. Ridwon said,” (Olawoyin).

     The events in multiple cities throughout Nigeria help to show just how meaningful World Speech Day has become for some communities. Without the celebrations of World Speech Day in these countries, it is possible that the people don’t get any sort or information or appreciation for all of things that speech and the ability to write speeches has given them. The ideas of bringing to light the importance of someone’s voice and the power their opinions have proven to be an incredible way to bring communities together in the fight for the unexpected voices. Not only were the Nigerian events, successful, but there were other celebrations in Athens, Iraq, and more.

     The most prominent thing that catches my eye within the World Speech Day community is the concept of the power of the voice. I think a lot of the time, we don’t believe our opinions are important or they may be irrelevant to what is happening in the world around us. However, World Speech Day works to make sure people begin to realize that it should be the exact opposite of that. What we have to say is absolutely important and whether or not we think someone cares about what we have to say, we should never stop speaking our minds and standing up for what we believe in.

     “When I read what I had written, I heard my own voice. More remarkable still, I could give my written words to others and they, too, quickened to the voice I'd created on the page.

More than 20 years ago, in his groundbreaking book Writing: Teachers and Children at Work (1983), Donald Graves maintained that voice was the dynamo in the writing process. Fifth grade teacher and writing consultant Jack Wilde (Kentucky Educational Television, 2004) says that the primary motivation for his students to write is voice. Not grades. Not praise. Not threats. Not deadlines. Voice. The chance to be known. The chance to put the linguistic muscle to use as a communicator. Voice and an appreciative audience drove my writing in 7th grade. Teachers at every grade level can take a lesson here. Voice is the key to helping our students develop into writers. We must give them opportunities to hear their own written voices and the written voices of others--their peers, their teachers, and the best authors,” (Romano).

     For me, the power of the voice and the influence of World Speech Day has not pushed me towards joining the collegiate speech and debate community, but the activist community. As I have gotten older, I have started to become more knowledgeable on the political state of our country, as well as others. I have become passionate about a lot of different issues that I want to help with. So, in joining the activist community, I want to march, protest, and join organizations that are pushing legislation changes that align with my political views. I want to be a part of the change that students like me are working to create, now more than ever. When I marched for the first time for a cause I was truly passionate about, it was a truly humbling and life-changing experience. Joining on-campus organizations that support the kinds of issues I am interested will help me to be a part of this community. However, there is a big difference between being a member of the activist community and being supportive. Not only does marching make you a member of the community, but you also have to call your legislators and push them to make the changes you are fighting for. They are the ones who can help make the direct changes and there is the possibility that if you don’t reach out to them, they might not work for the changes that better the people, but better themselves. I want to be an active member; one who participates to the fullest of my capability. I personally think it would have taken me much longer to come to this conclusion had I not been a part of the World Speech Day community in high school. Realizing the power of my voice and what I have to say matters came partly from my experiences with World Speech Day. I hope that World Speech Day starts to become a more prominent celebration across the world because it is so important that people realize the impact they can have on the world and the changes that they can make with just a few words. I believe that what everyone has to say is important. No matter which side of the spectrum you are on, what you don’t believe or what you do believe, what you have to say is important and you should absolutely have the opportunity to do so and I hope that World Speech Day continues to allow people to interact with that idea.

     In the weeks before World Speech Day my senior year of high school, my friend Matt and I decided to help Michael get the word out about the celebration to the school. To do so, we got a group of students together and asked them about what this celebration meant to them. When making the promotional video for World Speech Day asked me if I wanted to be one of the interviews we did. When asked why I celebrate World Speech Day, I said, “I celebrate World Speech Day because I am someone who believes that voices are some of the strongest things that we have. Being able to speak our minds and being able to express our visions and [even] say words is such a privilege because we [in America] have been so privileged by our First Amendment rights, that we have the opportunity to say what we want to say. I am someone who believes that if you want something to change, you speak out for it and you stand there and say, ‘I want to make a change’ and you can because people will listen to you and people will work with you to make that change possible. I celebrate World Speech Day so that I can inflict change on this world.” The fact that I was able to express how I felt about World Speech Day like this just goes to show how much of an impact celebrating it only twice had on my life. My exposure to speech and debate of course contributed to my outlook on it, however looking at this, proves that as the acknowledgment of World Speech Day grows, the effect it will have on the world as they learn about it will be so incredibly great.

     This video turned out to be not only a success, but an emotional experience for us making it. The video was all over the Facebook as the finished product was released, and the word of world speech day spread around my hometown community like wildfire. In terms of the emotional experience behind making this promotional video, it really helped us to realize how fortunate we are to be able to express ourselves the way we do. While we all, in this country, hold the freedom and opportunity to express themselves, they don’t truly realize the potential that their voices heard. For me and my peers, our background in speech and debate allowed us to realize our abilities without seeing that others don’t know they have the same opportunity. With this video, we were able to show our campus just how powerful their voices can be. If they didn’t know it before, they definitely knew it after watching their peers talk about what World Speech Day meant to them. I was lucky enough to have the perspective in which I knew I had the vocal power to speak out and being able to share that with my classmates and community was such an amazing experience. This film was our text. It was our way to reach out to the community around us and spread the message and power of World Speech Day. Film as a text can be extremely impactful on communities in a different way than a flyer or written text. Viewers could see the faces of students their age, younger, and older, express what speech means to them and how they too can use it to inflict change, or even just do something as simple as a speech presentation in class. World Speech Day isn’t just about trying help people realize that they can speak up, but it is about appreciate those who are speaking out for those who can’t, and for people to truly understand that what you have to say is important, whether you think people care or not. People will listen to you and being able to show my community that is possible, was truly incredible for me and Matt while making this video.

     Being a part of World Speech Day had the most incredible impact on my life. It inspired me in ways that I didn’t realize possible. I want to be a part of a community that pushes for change and isn’t afraid to fight for what they believe in. Understanding my ability to speak out has made me a more confident, strong, and productive member of society. One of the things that caught my attention most about World Speech Day was the concept of “unexpected voices.” The people who feel as though no one will listen to them or care about what they have to say are the unexpected voices. The people who don’t have the rights to speak up for themselves or for their communities are the unexpected voices. These communities of people are the ones who need World Speech Day. Having a celebration like this one can help these communities finally realize that they don’t have to be silenced. Nothing is more powerful than the voices of the people. Since learning about World Speech Day, I have come to appreciate the power in my voice. I already knew that I had the capability to use my voice to speak out, but I had never really taken a step back and actually understood that I have the ability to do something incredibly important and why not share that with those around me? I want to help others realize that they are capable of the same. I have used speech and debate and journalism to express my ideas and my visions for this world. I am ready to take all the passion I have for the art of speech and the issues I truly care about and bring it out into the community here at Florida State University.