2020/2/20

The 10th Portuguese Speech Contest (hosted by Osaka–São Paulo Sister Cities Association) was held on Sunday, February 9th. The winner was Hiroki Matsuoka, 4th-year student of the Faculty of Foreign Studies’ Department of Brazilian and Portuguese Studies.
In partnership with São Paulo as sister cities, the contest is hosted by Osaka City and is targeted at next-generation age group from high students to age 35. Matsuoka was also a contestant in the 37th All-Japan Students Portuguese Speech Contest held at KUFS in November 2019, and was awarded the Kyoto Shimbun Award. He was disappointed with the result, and challenged himself to compete again in this contest.
Matsuoka won first place with his speech on the theme of “Uma coisa importante para nossa vida (Important things in our lives)”. He said, “A happy life is not about satisfying your material desires or consuming appetite, but rather about how deep your level of friendships are with the people around you. In order to lead a quality life, it is important to be reminded of cherishing your family and friends.”

After the contest, Matsuoka commented, “I was surprised that my name was called when they announced the winner. I’ve never been to a country where Portuguese is the official language, but I’m very happy that I was able to show what I’ve learned and accomplished in the university. I wish to thank all the professors who gave me advice on my speech as I prepared for this contest.”
Matsuoka was also awarded a plane ticket to São Paulo. He plans to stay with a host family for two weeks this August.

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