This was a fantastic year for Palladian Oration.
Nine talented speakers trialled a few weeks before the event. After a brilliant effort all round, a panel of judges helped to select the team. Adele Burke (Fr 2018 and current Hon Secretary) and I (Olivia Taylor, Fr 2019) went on to refine our speeches with the invaluable help of Director of ES&L Will Cesta and Dean of Studies Alex Wright.
The topic was ‘Ok, Boomer!’, provoking a range of different responses. It proved to be an engaging night for the audience, both in-person and on the live stream. The speeches varied from dramatic pieces about our political system to discussing the importance of generational discourse.
My speech focused on the housing market, combining economics with references to the classic Australian movie ‘The Castle’. Using both humour and statistics, the speech covered a lot of ground and came to a surprising conclusion.
Adele delivered a theatrical and thought-provoking speech that focused on the impact of social media on our lives. Starting off with a dash of humour but then shifting to a serious tone, she delivered a message of the severe impact of our mobile devices. Likening Apple and Facebook to ‘big tobacco’ and fast food, the problem she posed was urgent and frightening.
It was a fantastic speech that rightfully took home first place!
- Olivia Taylor (Fr 2019)