BEO
The aim of the BEO since its inception has been to encourage personal growth, critical thinking and greater awareness of the world around us. We hope that through participation in the competition students will develop new thinking and communication skills, positive and flexible attitudes and an independence of thought that will help them flourish in both their personal and professional lives in the future.
The BEO Theme
The BEO academic events centre around a different contemporary global theme each year. This provides a context for the individual competition event briefs. Student teams are then asked to explore and research the brief and be prepared to present, debate or creatively approach the theme. Themes in previous years were:
Building Bridges, Communication for the World of Tomorrow (2017)
Inspire & Be Inspired (2016)
Youth Parliament – You are the Future (2015)
Constructive Conflict Resolution (2014)
The BEO Competition
The competition events are divided into three categories:
Presentation Events
There are typically two presentation briefs within this category.
Debate 2.0
A BEO specific debate format focusing on spontaneous use of language and cooperation.
Creative Events
The category favourites are The BEO Drama Festival and The BEO Song Contest. The other two competition events are Mystery Challenges which are not revealed until the day of the competition.
Academic Skills Workshops
The BEO Skills Workshops offer the opportunity to rehearse some of the skills required during the competition such as preparing presentations, public speaking, team building, time management, and leadership skills. These will be structured as one hour interactive workshops in which the students actively participate and work together.