The African Spelling Bee Consortium has partnered with Monash South Africa (MSA) to organise and host the first African Spelling Bee Championship in Johannesburg on Saturday, 16 July 2016. This pan-African consortium consists of nine spelling organisations from across the continent. Together, they have impacted well over five million young people through their national competitions.
Forty-five delegates from across Africa will arrive in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 13 July. MSA is sponsoring the grand prize of a fully paid undergraduate scholarship. The visiting delegation consists of 27 learners, the top three finalists from the nine participating countries as well as their chaperones and competition coordinators. The participating African countries include Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Botswana, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Uganda and South Africa. In addition to MSA, The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Fleet Africa, and Nedbank are also proud partners of this event.
The African Spelling Bee Championship event on Saturday, 14 July will consist of four distinct rounds. After three challenging rounds including multi-lingual word spelling and eliminations, the remaining finalists will battle it out in the fourth and final round as they attempt to spell out the ‘25 Championship’ words. The winner of this round will be named the African Spelling Bee Champion and will be presented with the MSA undergraduate scholarship.
Professor Alwyn Louw, Monash South Africa Academic President, said “Our collaboration with Spell It over the years has provided sponsorships for 14 learners to attend Monash South Africa and we are pleased to continue this support for promising young learners”.
During their stay, delegates will also participate in an educational tour which will include a visit to Nelson Mandela’s home on Vilakazi Street, and the Hector Pieterson Memorial. Finalists will then be taken to popular tourist locations in Johannesburg including Nelson Mandela Square and Monte Casino. International guests will also visit the Monash South Africa campus on Thursday, 14 July for a tour of the campus.
