The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) celebrated young literary talent last Saturday at “The 4th Macao-wide English Poetry Writing and Recital Contest” on its Ilha Verde campus.
According to the statement released by the private Catholic university yesterday, the event, sponsored by Jolly Kingdom Macau, attracted 670 submissions from 56 schools and universities across Macau.
Under this year’s theme “Mini me in a wide wide world,” participants from primary, secondary and tertiary education levels competed to showcase their creativity. The statement noted that 55 finalists advanced to Saturday’s recitation round after a rigorous selection process, with all entries screened using AI-detection tools to verify originality.
Finalists delivered their poems before a judging panel that included academics and past winners. Cash prizes were awarded to the top performers in each category. Prof. Duncan Miers, director of USJ’s English Language Centre, emphasised in the statement that “whether the contestants won or not, each of the finalists could take great satisfaction for their achievements.”
In the primary category, Hong Hoi Tong from Colégio Diocesano de São José 5 claimed the championship, while Vera Win Naygye Maung of Sacred Heart Canossian College triumphed in the secondary division. The university category was won by John Christian Escoto Añover from USJ.
The Saturday event was attended by officials from the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), and Lena Hun, a representative of sponsor Jolly Kingdom Macau English Learning Centre.
Looking ahead, the university announced next year’s theme, “Splish, splash, a bit of this and a bit of that”, which will celebrate diversity.
This undated handout photo provided by the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) yesterday shows a group photo of the judges and contestants, as well as guests, of the “The 4th Macao-wide English Poetry Writing and Recital Contest”, held on the Ilha Verde campus last Saturday.
