Centennial Institute, Turning Point USA to hold annual ‘Under 30’ speech contest as part of Western Conservative Summit
LAKEWOOD, Col. — Centennial Institute, Colorado Christian University’s public policy think tank, invites American citizens under the age of 30 to submit 10-minute speeches to the Western Conservative Summit’s “Under 30” speech contest. The theme of this year’s summit is, “America! America! God Shed His Grace on Thee,” and contestants are encouraged to incorporate the theme into their speech.
“We invite all young, conservative thinkers to send us their thoughts on our theme ‘America, America, God Shed His Grace on Thee’” said Jeff Hunt, director of the Centennial Institute. “This could be your moment to become the next conservative voice to Millennials and Generation Z who desperately need to hear another narrative aside from the one propagated by the leftists.”
Charlie Kirk, president of Turning Point USA, the largest youth organization in America which promotes the principles of freedom, free markets and limited government, agrees that public speaking is an essential skill for future public servants and leaders.
“Public speaking is the necessary talent young leaders and activists need to hone if they are going to persuade people with their ideas,” Kirk said. “If we have the best ideas, and I think we do, we must be able to communicate them powerfully and effectively. It’s mandatory, not optional. We are really excited to work with Centennial Institute at CCU on this important competition.”
Speeches must be uploaded to YouTube and submitted by 12 a.m. (MT) on Sunday, Sept. 20. They are evaluated by Centennial Institute and Turning Point USA officials on conservative content, speech quality, speaker presence and audience engagement.
Judging will begin on Monday, Sept. 21. The winner will be notified on Friday, Sept. 25, and will be supported in recording a professional-quality filming of their speech. The winning speech will be shown during the virtual Western Conservative Summit on Saturday, Oct. 10, and will be introduced by Benny Johnson from Turning Point USA. The winning speech will also be included in post-Summit YouTube and other video distribution.
Content applications and entries, as well as more information, is available here.
More information on the Western Conservative Summit is available here.
More information on the Centennial Institute is available here.