Fifteen-year-old Daniel Korcak, from Ostrava, Czech Republic, has won the Universal Postal Union’s 42nd International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People with his letter to the central European river, the Oder.
Daniel Korcak, with his mother and sister, says his win came as a complete surprise
Recalling the current International Year of Water Cooperation, the 2013 contest asked budding writers to explain why water is a precious resource.
"I thought many students would write to a person, so I decided to write my letter directly to water,” says the gold-medal winner, whose simple, creative and innovative prose captivated the international jury.
"In the river you create, we bathe, fish, children play with you when building stone dams, athletes on boats struggle against your power, and many seek peace and quiet in your whisper… near your river, there is your sister, healing water, which… waits to be carried to the nearby spa where it helps heal our ailments," wrote Daniel, who plays competitive handball when not in school.
"Daniel reminds us just how much we depend on water, too often taken for granted. His letter, tender and universal in its appeal, portrays the Oder as a symbol of water everywhere," declared the jury.
UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein congratulated this year’s winners, saying: “Communication is at the heart of the postal activity and, in a sea of digital messages, it remains critical for young people to understand the importance of the written word and the structured composition and recognize the emotions and call to action good writing can elicit. Postal services support literacy and communication, and we are delighted that our competition touches so many young people.”
An estimated 1.5 million young people from 60 countries participated in this year’s contest.
Second and third prizes
Nazifa Farhat Hye, 14, from Sylhet, Bangladesh, wins the silver medal, while Gabija Petrauskaité, 13, from Sventoji, Lithuania, wins bronze.
The jury also awarded special mentions to: Cy. M. Rodriguez from the Philippines, Priya-Vani Heera from Trinidad and Tobago, and Dao Thuy Thuy Duong from Viet Nam.
Winners will receive their prizes on 9 October 2013, World Post Day.
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