The Children's International Speech Contest, held Saturday in Tokyo, was unique in that its participants also experienced beforehand various programs promoting cross-cultural understanding.
In the event's second year, 39 children from elementary schools introduced themselves in English and delivered speeches on their assigned countries in either Japanese or English.
Ideas learned through experience, rather than from books, are an important element of a speech, said Madoka Soma, a representative of Somos & Co., the event's organizer.