For Public Diplomacy officers of a certain generation, every ceremony marking the Battle of Gettysburg and the dedication of the cemetery at the battlefield brings back some yesteryear memories.
Back when U.S. Information Service libraries and centers overseas were filled with eager students and professionals, the “Gettysburg Address Speech Contest” was an annual staple of programming in many countries. Students entered the contest by memorizing the speech and declaiming it before a panel of judges. There might be school, local, regional, and national competitions. Indeed, in Bangladesh and Nigeria, when a local leader was introduced to me, I might hear something like this: “He’s too modest to tell you, but he won the national Gettysburg Address speech contest in 196-. That’s how he became such a compelling orator in Parliament!”
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