A young schoolgirl from Viet Nam wins the 2010 UPU International Letter-writing Competition.
With her letter to the well-known Chinese film director, Zhang Yimou, the 11-year-old Ho Thi Hieu Hien won over the jury and was awarded first prize in the 39th UPU International Letter-writing Competition for Young People.
Almost two million children from some 60 countries (1.3 million from Viet Nam alone) took part in the 2010 competition. This is the fifth time that Viet Nam has come in the top three but the first time it has won the gold medal.
The theme was: “Write a letter to someone to explain why it is important to talk about AIDS and to protect oneself against it”. It was chosen to in with the prevention campaign launched in 2009 by the UPU, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the International Labour Organization (lLO) and UNI Global Union. Eight countries are currently taking part in this campaign worldwide, which uses the huge postal network to raise awareness of the importance of protection against HIV/AIDS. More are set to join this year.
In view of widespread misunderstanding of the issue, Ho Thi Hieu Hien explains in her letter how she intends to make films of the quality of Raise the Red Lantern and Red Sorghum to explain why protection against HIV infection is so important. “In my films I shall convey love and pain, ingratitude and ignorance while imparting knowledge about AIDS prevention in a gentle yet forceful way in order to awaken the human conscience,” she writes.
The members of the international jury declared that hers was a “very compelling composition”. “The young author skillfully uses the letter form to convey a range of information and perspectives on the theme and reach a wide audience,” they added.
Viet Nam has been one of the stalwarts of the international competition for two decades, coming second in 2009 and third in 1993, 1999 and 2004, and obtaining special commendations on several occasions.
Fine art of letter writing
Edouard Dayan, the UPU’s director general, congratulated all the winners on their excellent letters. “Even though personal correspondence now accounts for a tiny fraction of worldwide mail volumes, it is as important as ever to draw young people's attention to the skills of letter writing,” he said. “We would like them to acquire a taste for writing and communicating in general, which is what the Posts are all about.”
Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS executive director, said: “UNAIDS is delighted that this letter-writing competition has given millions of children around the world a chance to find out about HIV and voice their opinions. It is our duty to listen to these hard-hitting and meaningful messages and act.”
Runners-up
Thirteen-year-old Svetlana Zinevitch, from Belarus, came second. “A very personal and moving letter written by an unborn child to his mother who suffers from AIDS. A new and insightful perspective,” said the jury.
Third prize went to a young schoolgirl from Barbados, 15-year-old Crystal Hippolyte, who wrote a “clear and concise letter”, according to the jury. “The author confronts the issues head on in terms of how young people must come to grips with AIDS as they reach sexual maturity.”
Francisca Amoussa (Benin), Irene Petral (Zambia), Patricia Sousa Florindo (Portugal), Sebastián Solis (Ecuador) and Irina Bidniak (Ukraine) all received special commendations.
Read the winning letters here
Protecting the forests
The theme chosen for the 2011 competition is: “Write a letter to someone to explain why it is important to protect forests”.
This theme was selected as 2011 will be the UN International Year of Forests and the organization will be calling on all governments, UN bodies, NGOs and the private sector to pull out all the stops and raise awareness of the need to protect forests. This should be done by improving management, enhancing conservation and promoting sustainable development, all for the sake of present and future generations. Further information is available here
Going strong for 39 years
Viet Nam came second in 2009 and third in 1993, 1999 and 2004, and has received numerous special commendations.
Belarus won the gold medal in 2003, the silver in 2008 and 2010, and bronze in 2009.
Entries from China (People’s Rep.) have won the competition four times (1981, 1983, 1994 and 1999).
Ethiopia, Jordan, Malta and Mexico have each produced two top prize-winners.
Entries from Ireland won the competition two years running in 1986 and 1987 – the only country to do so.