22 June 2018

Past Plain English Speaking Award (PESA) champions, Luke Macaronas and Ellie Jamonts, are returning to help adjudicate this year’s competition.

Ellie, a former Star of the Sea College, Brighton, student was the state and national PESA winner in 2011, winning the title with her prepared speech, Sexism in Advertising and the Media.

Luke, a former St Kevin’s College, Toorak, student and winner of the Premier’s VCE High Achievers Award, won the state and national PESA competition in 2016 with his speech on ‘locker room culture’. He went on to win the 2017 International Public Speaking competition in London.

'Taking part in PESA is about being active in a broader community of individuals engaging with current issues. I have gained so much from my journey in public speaking, which started out with PESA. This time around, I want to show the same spirit of support and encouragement that I received to the next generation of public speakers', said Luke.

Luke describes the community of public speakers around the world as an 'incredible and outgoing family of thinkers' and has made friends through public speaking around the world, even in non-English speaking countries such as Spain and Lebanon. Luke's advice for PESA participants is not to shy away from the big political and ideological issues but to 'deeply and critically reflect on how you might use your voice to make a difference about something that matters'.

The PESA 2018 semifinals will take place on Monday 25 June and Tuesday 26 June 2018. Audience members are encouraged to attend and show support for participants at the PESA 2018 state final, which will be held on Wednesday 25 July 2018 at Treasury Theatre, East Melbourne. For more information, see the PESA webpage.