Multilingual Slam Competition - An unforgettable South Ken Kids Festival moment

During the South Ken Kids Festival 2018, Michael Vidon, professional poet, organised for the third time a Multilingual Slam Competition in collaboration with the Institut français.

On Monday 19 November, he ran a poetry and slam workshop in Sussex with three schools : Sackville school, Seaford Head school and Eastbourne College. The same workshop took place on Tuesday 20 November at the Institut français with two London school: St Paul's Way Trust School and Beachcroft AP Academy. During these workshops, Y8 to Y12 students were introduced to Slam and were asked to team up and form groups of 4 that will later perform on stage during the finale on Friday 23 November. The slam workshop was multilingual: all the students were more than welcome to use any language they can speak, or are learning.

Each year, it is very impressive to see how much work the students get into and to see them leaving the workshop with some excellent creations.

What is even more powerful is to see their performances during the finale. On Friday 23 November, 4 schools arrived, a little bit restless and nervous. Then came the moment they went on stage and it seemed like everything else vanished while they recited their slam poetry.

It’s never easy to go on stage and speak in front of a public, especially when you are a teenager, so we congratulate and thank them for such an accomplishment!

A special theme was set for this year's competition: Peace, as a nod to the Armistice centenary. Here are some extracts of the poems that were performed during the finale:

Do you remember? by S.T, L.T & S.E

'Do you remember

When you were a child

Friendships were made with a simple: Salut!

When did we loose that voice? An openness to the world that no longer persists?

There was no definite point

No time when we thought

Je vais juger! (I will judge)'

Citizen of the world by S.W, M.A, S.B

'White. Innocence, peace and purity.

Heroic and acknowledged, the pride of our country.

Curriculum carefully crafted,

Shaping ideologies Patriotic but at what cost?

Forgotten. War-torn countries, casualties of masses

unknown. All minorities unindentified. Together forming a majority of sorts.'

Pain in London, by A.R

'Peace is silent... but makes you feel pain

I come from the street where blood flows down the drain

I ain't trying to slip or leave a blood

but the street of London is full of rain drops

I come from the street

so hear me out

when I say your own friend might stab you in the back

then why ask why?

am I screaming in pain?'

Peace, by L.N

'Peace is found in the heart of your home,

The relief of paranoia when you're not alone,

Smiles you get when someone calls your phone,

Getting spoke to in a polite tone, Peace is the best and most civil,

But people fall with the devil and aim a missile,

Temptation for war is very common,

But in this world that normals a wrongen,

I pray for peace for now and our future'

6 prizes were attributed: Best team work, jury's 'coup de coeur', best humour, most expressive, best play with languages and best imagery. Also, as a a gift for their participation in the finale, the Institut français’ book office offered each participant a £15 national book token. Each student also went home with a French comic classic: a book from the Asterix collection by René Goscinny, translated by British translator Anthea Bell who passed earlier this year.

This year, a special gift has also been given by Eurostar, one of the South Ken Kids Festival main partners. Two Paris tickets were offered as a reward for a second Slam competition. As an individual competition, students who wanted to take part in the competition were asked to send a video of them reciting their Slam poem. The winner will be soon selected and will receive two return trips to Paris!

The Multilingual Slam competition is a great opportunity for students to use their ability with words and languages in a different context, to learn the basics of poetry writing, and to gain confidence in their writing, speaking and language skills. It's also an opportunity to get up on stage and perform to a real audience.

We believe cultural and artistic projects like the Slam Competition can help a lot of students from all sorts of backgrounds. We are proud of having had the chance to organise such a competition, and hope to see more participation from different schools in the future!

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