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Guidelines

Overview

WISE Talks competition will be divided up into phases. The first phase of the competition will happen at the community level, where students will compete among their peers and a first, second, and third place winner will be chosen. In the second phase, first place winners will compete for the finals at the upcoming summit in December of 2023 in Najaf, Iraq. The second or third place winners, respectively, from the schools will be runners-up in the event the finalist could not attend.

In the future, we hope to have a regionals event prior to the international finals, insha’Allah.

For Participants

WISE Talks is an amazing opportunity for students to research a topic that empowers them to be the change they want to see in the world. Students will go through several phases of the competition and the finalists will be presenting their WISE Talk at the international summit in December 2023. The website contains important information for students to be well informed and prepared for the competition.

Rules

  • All participants must be between the ages of 10-18 years old on September 1st, 2023
  • Each participant will have a maximum of 7 minutes to deliver their presentation.
  • The presentation must be in English.
  • All presentations must include visual aids or visual presentation files.
  • Participants must seek approval to use video files in their presentations.
  • All participants must respect and adhere to the given dress code.

Dress Code

The program’s leaders recommend business casual attire for all participants that reflect the presentation topic. All participants (males and females) must abide by the Islamic dress code and not wear any branded clothing except for WISE Talks.

Topic Ideas

Controversial Topics

  • Should animals be kept in a zoo?
  • Impact of videogames on the brain and akhlaqh (character)
  • Impact and use of social media.

Environmental Issues

  • How to control water pollution
  • Impact of pollution and plastic on our environment.
  • Reducing our environmental footprint

Social Issues

  • Making friends versus socializing, what criteria should we have for each?
  • What has social media done to our personal and family life in the past few years?
  • Family, friends, and social media, how much of each?
  • What is the correct way to approach a rebellious youth?
  • Mending the broken trust, how to re-engage the youth.

Religion Focused

  • Does our God belong to our houses and centers only?
  • How can we enjoin the good and forbid the evil in our daily lives?
  • Religion and culture, which is which?
  • Indifferent or Responsible, a Muslim by our praying mat or for the whole world?
  • Being unapologetically Muslim.
  • Importance of creating family traditions.
  • How to create a Mahdavi society?

Global Issues

  • Current world events.
  • Community activism.

Leadership, Justice, & Diversity

  • Diversity, respect for people or their actions, or both?
  • Leadership in the eyes of Imam Ali (AS).
  • Empowering the youth.

Community Change

  • Lessons in community management.
  • Muslim community outreach
  • Building communities with exponential impact.
  • Service to the community is service to humanity.
  • Volunteer and community services.

Presentation Tips and Guidelines

As you begin to organize your WISE Talk topic and research, use the following guidelines and tips to help you build a stronger presentation. Also, it is highly recommended that you review the rubric.
  • Research and understand your topic before building your argument.
  • Consider your audience’s needs and connect with them.
  • Start with a strong hook that peaks your audiences’ interests (a-ha! moment)
  • Ensure your key points relate back to your topic
  • Defend your position respectfully without attacking other beliefs, cultures, and values.
  • Organize your slide shows to align with your topic and presentation
  • Engage your audience and use the whole stage space
  • Make eye contact with your audience and use appropriate gestures, body language, and voice intonation.
  • Practice and have Tawakul (Faith)

For Schools

All Islamic Schools and local Islamic centers have the opportunity to participate in the WISE Talks program and competition.

Interest Form

Schools and centers will need to submit an interest form to participate in WISE Talks. A representative from the WISE Talks committee will meet with school personnel for an introduction presentation.

Phase 1: In-House Competition

The competition will have two rounds. All participants will deliver their speeches in the first round.  The judges will use the provided rubric and judging criteria to select six participants who will proceed to the second round. The public speaking program will also have two participant categories: (1) participants in the 5th to 8th grades and (2) participants in the 9th to 12th grades. The program will provide a rubric for each category, and judges will select three participants from each category to proceed to the second round. The winner in this round will be awarded for first, second, and third places. Organizations can choose the rewards.

Phase 2: Summit Competition

Finalists will attend the WISE international summit and present their WISE Talk. The judging panel will determine 3 winners from the finalists. First place will be awarded $1000, and the first and second runners-up will receive $600 and $400, respectively.

For School Judging Panels

The judges will grade all speakers according to their grade rubric. The grading will only consider the factors identified in the rubric to remain objective. Participants will be ranked according to their scores in each category depending on the respective rubric for their grades. The aggregate score will determine the competition winners. While the number of judges for the international competition will be between three and five, on the in-house competition level (within each school) there should be a minimum of three judges.

Requirements for Judges

  1. There should be at least one scholar on the judging panel. However, that scholar must have some experience in education and or teaching for the age group being judged (preferably with strong English proficiency)
  2. A school administrator who also has experience in the classroom and/or teaching students of the age group being judged.
  3. A teacher of language arts/English for the age group being judged
  4.  A person who is experienced in public speaking on a professional level.
We understand that there are certain limitations for each individual school based on the resources available to them, therefore for the in-house school competitions there will be more flexibility in the judges’ criteria. Please contact the WISE TALKS program director with any questions or clarifications needed.

WISE Talks Finals

Students who are selected to attend the WISE Talks finals will need to submit their abstracts and presentations before the competition to ensure it is mission aligned with the Islamic faith, WISE Talks missions, and the WISE Summit organization.
  1. Participants will submit their abstracts two months before the competition. The program team will review them before the dean of mission approves them.
  2. The program’s administrators will email all participants detailing their abstracts’ approval status (approved or rejected). Participants with approved abstracts will be notified to submit their final presentation one month before the competition. The submission should follow the following format:
  • Title of the presentation
  • Final abstract (150 – 800 words)
  • A photo of the participant
  • The visual presentation file for the speech (e.g., an MS PPT, Prezi file, or Google Slide).
  • Any other necessary supplemental material
  1. Participants will receive an email three days later confirming receipt of their presentation and final competition details.