Hawawu Sulemana, a Ghanaian student in China, has won the 3rd edition of the Africa Night Speech Contest in Beijing after beating competition from representatives of 17 other African countries.

Ms Sulemana speech and presentation were focused on Ghana and the country’s rich culture and traditions.  She highlighted the countries natural resources and efforts being made by the government to add value to the resources and create sustainable jobs to improve livelihood.

Organised by Appreciate Africa Network and partnered by Hong Kong TV, the event took place at the AC Embassy Hotel in Beijing and had contestants from, Algeria, Cabo Verde, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. 

The contestants from Ghana and South Africa won 1st place with the contestant from Nigeria and Zimbabwe winning 2nd and 3rd place respectively. 

According to the organisers, the objective of the contest is to educate the public especially Chinese nationals on the fact that Africa is a continent with different countries, unique history with rich culture and traditions. It also serves as an opportunity to promote tourism on the African continent and attract investors to partner local firms in establishing sustainable businesses. Judges of the event assessed the performance of candidates on indicators such as confidence, tone of voice, the content of presentation, charisma, genuineness, passion, entertainment value and appearance. 

Commenting on her victory, Ms Sulemana was optimistic that this and many other achievements by Ghanaian students in China is important for the brand and image of the West African country.

“Reputation is key and as a people, we must strive for excellence and success in our various endeavours irrespective of location or impact for little actions culminate into bigger successes for Ghana in the long term,” she said.