Finding Her Voice, Touching Hearts — Sawako Maury clinches 1st Place at PESA 2026!

We are immensely proud to celebrate Sawako’s outstanding achievement.

“Well, where do I fit in this system? What’s my role?”

With these deeply personal questions, Sawako Evelyne Maury (MN520) invited her audience to look beyond differences and reflect on what it truly means to build a more inclusive and empathetic society.

We are immensely proud to celebrate Sawako’s outstanding achievement in clinching 1st Place in the JC/CI/ITE/POLY Category at the 39th YMCA Plain English Speaking Awards (PESA) 2026.

PESA is an annual national public-speaking competition that develops students’ communication and critical-thinking skills. This year’s competition brought together more than 1,200 students from 231 schools across Singapore, from preschool through to tertiary levels.

In her Finals speech, Sawako spoke with remarkable honesty and courage about her experience growing up alongside a neurodivergent sister — sharing both the challenges and the “undeniably beautiful” parts of that journey. She challenged her audience to consider the part each of us can play in creating a society where inclusion is a shared responsibility.

She concluded with a powerful reflection: it is when we begin asking where we fit and what our role should be that we start to reflect on “our own humanity and role in this life — our responsibility as members of society.”

Sawako was invited to deliver her winning speech again at the Awards Ceremony on 22 September, in the presence of GOH, Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Education and Sustainability and the Environment.

Her achievement was equally impressive throughout the competition. During the semifinals, in the final impromptu round, contestants had just two minutes to prepare a three-minute speech. Given the topic “What 61 Looks Like,” Sawako reflected on Singapore’s 61st birthday and what it means to call Singapore home through the lens of her own multicultural heritage — demonstrating maturity, creativity and presence of mind.

Sawako’s achievement reminds us of the extraordinary power of a young person who finds the courage to speak from lived experience and to help others see the world differently.

Congratulations, Sawako! We are tremendously proud of you.