UPU News:- 44th international letter-writing contest: vying for gold

The UPU has received entries from 61 countries for the 44th edition of its International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People.

Youngsters were invited to write a letter describing the world they want to grow up in

Globally, more than one million pupils took part in the UPU competition at the national level.

From Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, participating countries have finalized their national competitions and chosen the letters that will represent them at the international level.

A jury of worldwide experts is now selecting the best compositions in the world, with the top three winners to receive gold, silver and bronze medals. This year’s jury includes Mitchell Toomey, director of the Millennium Campaign, Caroline Naddeo, who won the UPU competition in 1989 and today works in the banking sector in Marseille, Konstantinos Berdos, who sits on the European Year for Development task force at the European Commission, Dimitrios Fatouros, from the United Nations Regional Information Centre in Brussels, and Jorge Aldana, in charge of international relations at the Mexican Post.

This year’s contest, which asks young people to write about the world they want to grow up in, links to the post-2015 sustainable development goals. The winners will be announced just before a UN special summit in September, where member states are expected to formally adopt new goals to further progress achieved with the 2000-2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

According to UPU figures, over 14,000 schools worldwide were involved in this year’s contest. The highest number of participants come from Vietnam (968,216), which annually generates the largest participation among all UPU member countries, Azerbaijan (60,595 pupils) and China (33,274).

And this year saw newcomers like Mongolia, which is taking part for the very first time in the contest’s history. Some 4,000 pupils from 200 schools competed nationally.

The UPU’s letter-writing competition is an opportunity to promote literacy and good writing skills among young people and raise their awareness of global issues and the role of postal services in today’s society.