Diversity, sovereignty and commitment in dealing with issues of current global interest: This year's DHPS Speech Contest was held on 29 May and several participants demonstrated their potential.

The juniors (grade 9) could choose from the following topics:

• Science and Research: Since curiosity can be googled, it is no longer necessary to climb the Chimborazo as Humboldt. Are there still things of personal interest for us today?
• Fridays for Future: School strike for the climate - we are joining in!
• Digitalisation of our everyday lives: The load of information is flooding us. What can save us?

The seniors (grade 11) had the following topics to choose from:

• Equal rights: 100 years of women's suffrage does not mean 100 years of equal rights.
  Women's rights are far too often disregarded all over the world. Get involved!
• Peace policy: “There is only one way to the future - peace.” (Nelson Mandela)
  A plea for respect, tolerance and a policy for peace!
• Genetic engineering: And then we simply apply the genetic scissors ...
  CRISPR research - intervention into creation?

It was a very exciting competition with many speeches that reflected the learners’ confidence with language.

In grade 9, Désirée Kollmitz won, followed by Cara Köpplinger, who both spoke in favour of "Fridays for Future". It was a challenge for the jury, consisting of Clarissa Judmann (German Embassy Windhoek), Julia Augart (University of Namibia), Annegret Fechter (DHPS library), Wilfried Hähner (Hitradio Namibia) and last year's winner Anna-Marie Ritter (for grade 9) and Patrick Beggs (for grade 11) to take a decision.

Fhulufhelo Ramphaga was outstanding and deservedly won with her speech on the question of equal rights in the DaF senior category (German as a foreign language).

Among the seniors, Nikolai Koch delivered a confident and touching speech against genetic engineering on humans and took first place among the seniors. Valerie Trübenbach was very committed to women's rights and took an excellent second place.