Vietnam wins first prize in the UPU International Letter Writing Competition.

As expected by the national competition organizers, Ho Thi Hieu Hien, a student from Tay Son Secondary School (Hai Chau District, Da Nang City), has officially been announced as the winner of the 39th UPU International Letter Writing Competition. After exactly 20 years of Vietnam participating in this competition, this is the first time a Vietnamese student has won first prize internationally.

This information was recently announced by Mr. Jérôme Deutschmann, head of information at the UPU, to the Department of International Cooperation under the Ministry of Information and Communications, the permanent unit of the Organizing Committee for the 39th UPU Letter Writing Competition in 2010 at the national level.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Hung presented the award.
First prize in the 39th UPU national competition for Ho Thi Hieu Hien.

In the letter announcing the results achieved by Vietnamese students in the 2010 International Letter Writing Competition, Mr. Jérôme Deutschmann also stated that in the next few days, the Director General of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) will personally send an official notification letter to the organizing committee of the 39th UPU competition in Vietnam.

The UPU information officer also requested that the Vietnamese organizing committee of the 39th UPU competition provide a photograph of student Ho Thi Hieu Hien to illustrate the press release that will be published by the UPU on September 8, 2010.

The theme of the 39th UPU International Letter Writing Competition is: “Write a letter to someone explaining why it is important to learn about AIDS and to protect yourself against it.”

Thus, after exactly 20 years of Vietnam participating in this competition, this is the first time a Vietnamese student has won first prize internationally. Ho Thi Hieu Hien's letter was addressed to director Zhang Yimou – a renowned Chinese and international director – expressing her wish for excellent films on the topic of HIV/AIDS.

Hieu Hien hopes that through his letter, director Zhang Yimou will create films that help people better understand the dangers of AIDS so they can effectively prevent it and awaken those who are still indifferent to this disease of the century.

In the Vietnamese national round, Hieu Hien also won first prize. The judges praised her letter for its authenticity and emotional depth, reflecting the feelings and thoughts of a student and affirming the position and role of those responsible for addressing this terrible disease.

Having won first prize in the 2010 UPU International Letter Writing Competition, Ho Thi Hieu Hien will be invited by the Universal Postal Union to receive her award at the UPU headquarters in Bern, Switzerland. In Vietnam, Hieu Hien will be awarded a prize of 30 million VND by the National Organizing Committee of the international letter writing competition and will also receive a Certificate of Merit from the Ministry of Education and Training.

According to VnMedia