Walter Myer wins 2015 Brian Riley Declamation Prize
Walter Myer (2012, MML) has been awarded the 2015 Brian Riley Declamation Prize for his speech, Hunting the hydra: Corporate tax reform and the EU’s next frontier.
In his speech, Walter discussed the ramifications of recent EU policy around corporate tax avoidance. He argued that the policy dissolves a long-standing symbiosis between corporations and EU institutions, ushering in a new phase in European integration. You can read the full speech here.
The prize is awarded to the student who gives the best speech of between 10 to 15 minutes on a topical subject with a European theme. Four students were selected from a strong field of seven entries to declaim their essays before four judges and a keen audience in the Master's Lodge, on Thursday 12 November.
The three other finalists were:
Tomasz Zawisza (2008, PhD Economics), Playing Beethoven on the Barricades: Europe as a revolutionary idea.
Helena Roy (2013, Economics), Europe's Human Tides: Migration, integration and radicalisation.
Jane Braden-Golay (2015, MPhil Education), Europe, can we ever be yours?: A Jewish European's reflections on citizenship, belonging and the rise of anti-Semitism.
This was the 21st year that the Brian Riley Declamation Prize has been awarded. This year's winner receives a prize of £700, of which at least half must be spent on books. It was established in memory of Brian Riley (1959), to encourage communication skills and reward excellence in both written and oral presentation. Mr Riley read Modern & Medieval Languages and Oriental Studies at Pembroke, specialising in German, French and Chinese. He maintained an interest in foreign languages and cultures throughout his life.
The four judges who selected the winner were the Master, Dr Mark Wormald (Senior Tutor), Professor Loraine Gelsthorpe (Tutor for Graduate Affairs) and Dr Nicola Riley, daughter of Brian Riley.
Image: Lernaean Hydra, By Eagle Painter Wolfgang Sauber (User:Xenophon). [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
