Theme of the 46th UPU International Letter Writing Competition – 2017

(Baonghean.vn) - The official theme of the 46th UPU international letter-writing competition: “Imagine you are an advisor to the new Secretary-General of the United Nations; which world issue would you help him tackle first and how would you advise him to solve it?”.

“Imagine you are an advisor to the new UN Secretary-General; which world issue would you help him tackle first and how would you advise him to solve it?

A. Organizing unit:

Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Education and Training, Central Committee of Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Vietnam Post Corporation, Young Pioneer Newspaper.

B. Purpose - Meaning:

Every year, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) organizes an international letter-writing competition for children, aiming to:

-Contribute to developing children's writing skills and creative thinking.

-Create conditions to strengthen friendship between ethnic groups among the young generation.

-Help children understand more about the role of the Postal industry in life and social development.

C. Rules:

1. Subject:All Vietnamese students under 15 years old (as of December 31, 2016) are eligible to take the exam.

2. Exam regulations:

-The test is a letter written in prose (not yet published in a newspaper or book), no longer than 1,000 words.

-Entries written in foreign languages ​​must be accompanied by a Vietnamese translation. The Jury will judge the Vietnamese version.

-The writing must be clear, clean, and handwritten on one side of the paper (computer-typed or photocopied writing is not valid).

-In the upper left corner, write in full: Full name, date of birth, ethnicity, school address, class, district (town), province (city) or home address. Entries that do not include all of the above information will be disqualified.

* Entries must be put in a stamped envelope, clearly stating the sender's address/recipient's address with the postal code (112815) and sent individually (regular mail) via the Post Office. The envelope must clearly state: UPU Letter Writing Contest 46-2017.

3. Place of exam label:Young Pioneer Newspaper, No. 5, Hoa Ma, Hanoi - 112815

4. Time:From November 14, 2016 to February 20, 2017 (according to the postmark).

5.Some requirements:

- Do not establish an Organizing Committee and select papers locally.

- 100% student participation is not required.

-Copyright of the entries belongs to the Organizing Committee.

-Registration number: 112815 is the postal code of Thieu Nien Tien Phong Newspaper.

D. PRIZES:

1. National Award:

-The official winners will be recognized as National Excellent Students in the corresponding Literature subject.

-The candidates who won First and Second prizes were awarded the "Creative Youth" Badge by the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

-The Organizing Committee will support travel and accommodation expenses for the First, Second, and Third prize winners and two relatives (parents and school) to attend the Closing Ceremony and Award Ceremony.

Individual award:

-1 First prize: 5,000,000 VND; 3 Second prizes, each: 3,000,000 VND; 5 Third prizes, each: 2,000,000 VND; 30 Consolation prizes, each: 1,000,000 VND.

- Consolation prizes: Prize for ethnic minority contestants: 1,000,000 VND; Prize for disabled contestants: 1,000,000 VND.

-The organizing committee awarded the "Promising Writer" prize to the remaining contestants whose entries made it to the final round, each prize worth 500,000 VND.

Collective solution:

Schools with students winning First, Second and Third prizes will receive collective prizes of 1,000,000 VND each.

2. International Awards:

The first prize-winning letter of Vietnam will be sent by the Organizing Committee in its entirety along with the English and French translations to participate in the International Letter Writing Competition. If winning, the following prizes will be awarded: First Prize: 30 million VND; Second Prize: 20 million VND; Third Prize: 15 million VND; Encouragement Prize: 10 million VND. The Organizing Committee will propose to relevant units to have appropriate forms of rewards.

E. ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:

Head of the Committee: Mr. Nguyen Minh Hong - Deputy Minister of Information and Communications.

Deputy Head:

- Mr. Nguyen Duc Quang, Editor-in-Chief of Young Pioneer Newspaper.

-Mr. Trieu Minh Long, Deputy Director of International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Information and Communications

-Ms. Chu Thi Lan Huong, Deputy General Director - Vietnam Post Corporation.

-Mr. Duong Van Ba, Deputy Director of Student Affairs Department - Ministry of Education and Training.

And the commissioners.

F. JURY BOARD:

Head: Writer Nguyen Tri Huan, Vice President of Vietnam Writers Association.

Deputy Head: Poet Nguyen Duc Quang, Editor-in-Chief of TNTP newspaper.

Members: Poet Tran Dang Khoa, journalist Pham Thanh Long, screenwriter Vu Quang Vinh, writer Le Phuong Lien, poet Phan Thi Thanh Nhan, writer Ta Duy Anh, poet Huu Viet, teacher Nguyen Thuy Anh, journalist Do Thi Thanh Binh, teacher Tran Thi Kim Dung, journalist Luu Thi Ha, writer Phong Diep, teacher Nguyen Thi Hau.

The Organizing Committee requests all levels and sectors to coordinate, direct and guide units, schools and students to participate in the competition with the highest quality.

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Suggested topics for the 46th UPU International Letter Writing Competition

Along with the contest rules, the Organizing Committee also provides some suggestions related to the topic as well as the techniques of writing a letter for young people across the country to refer to in expressing their creativity and unique ideas while writing. Specifically:

I. About letter writing techniques

- You all know that the letter needs to be written in prose. This year's theme has elements of an argumentative essay, hoping that you will demonstrate your understanding and interest in prominent issues in the world we live in. You should give your personal arguments and opinions and then find convincing evidence to prove your opinions. Try to demonstrate your ability to analyze, evaluate and propose solutions to the problems that the world is facing today.

- After choosing the hottest “global issue” from your point of view, choose a unique and creative structure for the letter to express that idea. You should avoid writing letters in a dry, listing or general narrative style.

- Write your letter in clear, coherent and emotional sentences. If the letter contains many vivid images or reasonable comparisons, it will be more attractive, appealing and convincing to the reader. If you choose to have a direct dialogue with the new Secretary General to present your advice on a global issue of your first choice and present how to solve it, the letter will certainly be very convincing and impressive. The letters that win high prizes are often those that touch the reader's heart not only because of the ideas and structure of the letter but also because of the sincere emotions expressed by the writer.

- Please note that the letter should not be longer than 1000 words.

II. About the topic of the 46th UPU letter writing competition

The theme of this year's UPU International Letter Writing Competition is still open-ended with a wide range of content for students to choose from. However, students should note that the theme sets out very specific limitations: You must write a letter in the role of an advisor to the new Secretary-General of the United Nations; you must choose an issue that you think the new Secretary-General must deal with first when he begins his term, an issue of global significance; you must propose specific solutions to solve the issue you have chosen.

First of all, you need to know the context and timeliness of this year's theme. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, will succeed the current Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon (former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea). The new Secretary-General will take up his new duties in January 2017. He was the former Prime Minister of Portugal and also led the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for many years. The theme of this year's UPU International Letter Writing Competition is to create opportunities for students to participate in discussions, propose their opinions and thoughts on hot global issues that need to be prioritized in the modern world.

Next, you should learn more about what are the current global hot issues? The first information “address” you need to learn is “United Nations Sustainable Development Goals” (UN Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs). There are 17 goals that the United Nations is aiming for today: Eradicating poverty; eradicating hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; economic growth and decent work; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequality; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peaceful societies; global partnerships. Each goal contains extremely meaningful and humane content, aiming towards a common goal of ending poverty and inequality, bringing peace, happiness, prosperity to people and protecting our planet in a sustainable way.

In addition, you should also refer to other reliable sources from official websites, books, newspapers, etc. to get more new information and new perspectives, helping you have a more complete and accurate view of our contemporary world.

Once you have a general picture of global issues, choose one that you think is the most important and urgent. Explain clearly why you chose that issue; how it affects people and how it affects the world we live in.

An extremely important part of the letter is that you come up with concrete and convincing solutions to solve the problem you have chosen. These can be feasible solutions that can be applied in real life; but they can also be long-term solutions that require a will, a long-term effort or the joint responsibility of the entire community, of all humanity. In short, you must have an idea of ​​a solution to implement the problem you have chosen to advise the new Secretary-General.

You should follow the column “UPU International Letter Writing Competition Accompanying You” in the Thieu Nien Tien Phong newspaper and on the website: www.thieunien.vn. This column has a lot of useful information and interesting tips to help you write good letters such as: high-ranking winners in the UPU International Letter Writing Competition will reveal “secrets” when writing letters; literature teachers with many prize-winning students will share their experiences; members of the Jury will discuss, suggest or answer questions from students; provide new information about the theme of this year’s competition for students…

The Organizing Committee and the Jury of the contest hope to receive good and meaningful letters from the children, contributing to the voice of Vietnamese children in solving global issues in a sustainable way, towards a peaceful, happy, equal and prosperous life.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF UPU LETTER WRITING COMPETITION 46