A teenager from Poland among an elite group of speakers

Rio de Janeiro, city of the last Olympic Games. It was here that 31 students from 15 countries took part in the Youth Leadership Forum. Among them is Pole Konrad Puchalski, a 16-year-old resident of Zielona Góra.

Konrad Puchalski became one of the best young public speakers in the world by winning an international public speaking competition aimed at middle and high school students. Call EF. I decided to take part in the EF Challenge because I know English very well, which I have been studying for ten years, and I found a great idea to spend my free time. In addition, I think that the competition can help me get into a good school, and later even a college. Explained 16 year old.

Konrad Puchalsky

Every year, as part of the competition, participants record a short film with their performance in English on a topic provided by the organizers. The question of the 2016 contest was as follows: you think everything is possible? In his video, Konrad Puchalski explained: No one should ever tell you that you can't do something. The only person who can decide this is you..

Tremendous willingness and determination paid off for the 31 winning teens, who were selected from thousands of entries. The winners of the EF Challenge 2016 were rewarded with a XNUMX-week trip to a foreign language course, a XNUMX-month online English course, a class trip to the UK or Singapore, or a trip to the EF Youth Leadership Forum in EF Rio Village, Brazil.

11 schoolchildren aged 15-2016 from 31 countries took part in the Young Leaders Forum on August 13-19, 15. During the forum, the participants not only developed their public speaking and language skills, but also participated in interactive master classes. They also took part in group projects, learned about international collaboration and communication, as well as "design thinking", i.e. approach to innovation based on the specifics of the design process.

Through YLF, I learned how to design and solve problems by building the right products and services. I also participated in interesting seminars, for example, on tolerance. I certainly improved my English. This was my first such trip abroad - I was surprised by the positive atmosphere and how well everyone treats each other. In Brazil, I got to know other cultures, which made me even more open to the world. - summed up Konrad Puchalsky.