The information was announced by the UPU International Office at the closing plenary session of the 27th Congress of the Postal Union in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) on the evening of August 27, 2021.

Vietnamese student Dao Anh Thu, eighth grader from Nguyen Huy Tuong Secondary School, Dong Anh District, Hanoi City, won third prize at the 50th Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Letter Writing Contest.

The 50th UPU International Letter Writing Competition - 2021 was organised by the UPU with the theme: "Write a letter to a family member about your experience with Covid-19".

As the author of the letter that won the international third prize, Dao Anh Thu chose the idea of sending a letter to a baby girl born while her mother was treating Covid-19 at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases. The letter described the difficulties and hardships of the doctors and the pride in their contributions to the prevention and control of the pandemic in Vietnam.

With a clear message, a logical and reasonable presentation, and a record of practical experiences, the letter brought Vietnam one of the top three prizes of the 50th UPU International Letter Writing Contest, extending Vietnam’s performance in the 33rd year of participation. This is the 16th time that a Vietnamese student has won an international prize at this competition.

Closing plenary session of the 27th Congress of the Postal Union in Abidjan.

The international first prize went to Nubaysha Islam (female, 14 years old) from Bangladesh. The international second prize was awarded to Bruno Ivanovski (male, 14 years old) from North Macedonia for a letter to his grandmother. In addition, UPU also awarded five consolation prizes to students from Belarus, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and Libya.

Every year, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) holds the UPU International Letter Writing Contest encouraging young writers aged 9-15 to write letters on a given theme to win exciting prizes. The competition is an excellent way to develop writing skills among youths and boost their ability to express their thoughts clearly regarding the social problem they may be concerned about. It also aims to foster and nurture the young generation's awareness and responsibilities towards society, their nation, as well as the whole world.

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Source: NDO