Stuttering competition grand finale to take place in Nantes

The grand finale of a French competition that aims to help stutterers overcome their condition is set to take place in Nantes, northwest France, this Friday, May 6.

The fourth annual l’Eloquence du Bégaiement (Eloquence of Stuttering) competition will take place at the Audencia Business School, Nantes (Loire-Atlantique). The event was previously held in Paris and Lyon.

The contest will see 12 candidates, aged 18 to 60, face up against each other and seek to overcome their speech impediment.

The event in Nantes is happening after co-founder of the contest, Mounah Bizri – who himself stutters, along with fellow co-founder Juliette Blondeau – wanted to bring the competition to his former university, where he took elocution lessons.

The aim of the contest is to help stutterers to overcome their impediment, and improve both their verbal and non-verbal communication. It aims to show that stutterers can speak clearly and confidently.

Ahead of the grand finale, participants follow a coaching programme over the course of five weeks, which includes 12 hours of workshopping and 12 hours of training, plus individual support.

Since its founding, l’Eloquence du Bégaiement event has worked with more than 100 stutterers to help improve their speech, and has reached more than 10 million people due to publicity and awareness raising efforts for the event.

The event will take place in the Amphi Edit building, Audencia, Nantes. Doors open at 19:00 for 19:30. Admission is free but visitors are invited to register beforehand.

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