Eleven Philippine international schools in the Kingdom and other GCC countries have confirmed their participation in the 12th Middle East Academic, Talent and Skills Competition to be held in Bahrain between Oct. 3 and Oct. 5.

“More Philippine international schools are expected to participate in the competition, whose current champion is the Philippine School of Bahrain,” said Zane M. Thirlwall, regional commander of the Order of the Knights of Rizal for Middle East and Africa region.

Two students from the Philippine International School in Riyadh will take part, while three will part-take from the school in Dammam, one from Bahrain, one from Abu Dhabi, two from Qatar and two from Kuwait.

“Preparations are going on smoothly. The venue of the competition has been booked, as has student accommodation,” Thirlwall said.

The competition will include essay writing on “Young Jose Rizal” and “Young Maria Clara.”

“There will be an oration, talent portion and question-and-answer session in both contests,” he said.

Two students from each of the schools will participateIn the on-the-spot painting contest.

An essay-writing contest will also be held in English and Filipino. One contestant from each school will participate in English and another in Filipino or Tagalog.

A “battle of the brains” contest will also be held.

Talking about the three-day event, Thirlwall said, “It is held to commemorate the life, works and martyrdom of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, a Philippine national hero.”

He added that it is also held “to instill in the young minds of the Filipino youth Rizal’s vision for them to be a strong foundation and a source of hope for the motherland.”

Thirlwall’s involvement in the Order of the Knights of Rizal (OKOR) stems from the fact that he’s married to a Filipino. Thirlwall is a Briton based in Alkhobar.

OKOR is a non-sectarian, civic, patriotic and cultural organization.