C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest | Peace and Conflict Studies

About the contest

In 1974, the directors of the C. Henry Smith Trust established a Peace Oratorical Contest in the name of the late C. Henry Smith. C. Henry Smith was a Mennonite historian and professor at Goshen College and Bluffton College and had deep interest in the Mennonite peace position. Overall, he taught history for nearly 50 years at the collegiate level. He is well-known for his numerous books on Mennonite history and his particular attention to the peace commitments of the Mennonite tradition. The directors felt that an oratorical contest would be a fitting way to foster continuing thought about peace issues and would also provide a mechanism for making these views known.

The intercollegiate competition is administered by the Peace and Justice Ministries of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Undergraduate students from every Mennonite and Brethren in Christ college in North America including Canada are eligible to participate. The contest is sponsored by Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) Bible, religion and theology, language and literature, and peacebuilding and development programs including Mennonite Central Committee.

The theme for these speeches is the application of the Christian peace position to contemporary concerns. Christian peace positions can be broadly interpreted to include nonviolent approaches to conflict and holistic approaches to addressing social inequities and injustices that contribute to issues we see in society. PACS students might include diverse lenses on different forms of violence and peace, feminism and gender equity, racial equity, restorative justice, socio-economic and political inclusion, police brutality, non-violent direct action, peace as everybody's business, climate change, and environmental justice, etc.

There is a $1,800 cash award that will be administered to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd winners. However, participation is less about the monetary prize, and more about creating awareness on PACS and social justice issues a student cares about and incorporating Christian lenses into it.

For questions, please contact Ndagire Brendah, the PACS Academic Advisor.

Please see the videos of the past winners below to give you an idea of what the speeches are about.

Visit the PACS Events page to learn more about this year's contest.

Eligibility

All residents or associates of Conrad Grebel University College, as well as students who are enrolled in a PACS program, are invited to participate in the contest.

Contest regulations

Speeches should follow the general theme of the application of the Christian peace position to contemporary concerns. Sample topics might include pacifism, economic peacemaking, religious conflict and reconciliation, women’s issues as peace issues, biotechnology, and Christian ethics, how to work against racism (and all isms) from a faith perspective, environmental concern through the eyes of the peacemaker, etc (topics are not limited to these suggestions).
Speeches should not be longer than 1500 words. Not more than 10% may be quoted material.
Speeches should not be longer than 12 minutes in duration.
Speeches will be judged on six criteria: topic, content, delivery, introduction, conclusion, and creativity.
On the day of the contest, a copy of each speech must be submitted to the judges after it has been delivered.
The 1st place speech will be sent to the bi-national contest to compete with speeches written by students from across North America. The top three orations at the binational level will also receive an additional cash award.
A PDF copy of the speech manuscript should be submitted to the PACS Academic Advisor to be submitted to MCC USA.