My Experience in the Mother Language Day Competition – By Deneth Pruthuvi Perera
Source : Qld Sri Lankan Newsletter – Dæhæna – June 2023
A few days ago, I participated in a memorable mother tongue language competition. It was a wonderful and transformative experience that allowed me to celebrate my cultural heritage and showcase the beauty of my mother language, Sinhala.
The event was organised by the Ethnic Schools Association of Queensland (ESAQ). Many ethnic schools such as Brisbane Sinhala School participated and performed items such as dancing, singing, and speech contest.
We acknowledge with thanks the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives, Milton Dick, MP and Honourable Jessica Pugh, MP State member for Mt Ommaney representing the Honourable Minister for Education for visiting the Brisbane Sinhala School food stall. It had a fabulous
display of art works with school and Sri Lankan identity.
The event had many cultural food stalls available for the attendees to try such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines, China, Hungary and more. During the event, I participated in the speech contest for which the theme was food around the world. I presented my favourite Sri Lankan dish coconut sambol, a delicious dish made from coconut.
I won first place in my age group (16-18 year olds) and won a $100 gift card as a prize. The Mother Tongue Language Competition had transformed from a mere event into an unforgettable journey. It was an amalgamation of cultural experiences, mouthwatering flavours and the power of language to unite communities. I am grateful to the Brisbane Sinhala School for providing this opportunity for me.
Deneth Pruthuvi Perera
Deneth Perera is a Year 11 student at Citipointe Christian
College, Brisbane.
