The Brian Riley Declamation Prize 2022

This is the twenty seventh competition for the Riley Prize which is designed to encourage communication skills and reward excellence in both written and oral presentation.  

A prize of £1000 may be awarded for the best speech on any topical subject with a European theme.  The titles of some previous entries are listed below, but the theme can be interpreted quite broadly.  All contestants must submit the written script of their speech to the Senior Tutor (senior.tutor@pem.cam.ac.uk) no later than Sunday 30 October 2022. 

Any undergraduate or postgraduate member of College may compete.  Candidates, if short-listed will be asked to read their composition, or part of it, before an audience.  The speech should last for some 10-15 minutes.  The competition itself will take place on the evening of Friday 11th November in the Master’s Lodge. 

The judges will pay attention not only to substance but also to written style and to elegance of presentation.  Overly long speeches may be penalised.

The prize was created in memory of Brian Riley who matriculated in 1959 and read Modern and Medieval Languages and Oriental Studies at Pembroke, specialising in German, French and Chinese.  He maintained his interest in foreign languages and cultures throughout his life.

The prize winner from last year was Toby Chesser.

Some examples of titles of recently submitted entries:

• Europe’s Migration Crisis
• 'Ich Bin Ein Berliner'
• Large Hadron and other European collisions
• European Foreign Policy
• Where does Europe end?
• Don’t bank on Europe
• Berlin Philharmonic
• Europe’s carbon footprint
• In, Out, Shake it all About?
• Couch surfing: Europe from inside
• The Ultimate Inter-Rail
• Europe and Greece: where now?
• Islam and Europe
• Europe and Hollywood
• Euroscience
• Towards a Super State
• Cultures and Anarchy
• Merkel’s Miracle Worker
• Online or offside? Jeux sans Frontières
• Britain and Europe: a long conversation
• The Wide-Eyed Continent