Every year, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) organizes the International Letter Writing Competition for Children, aiming to contribute to the development of children's writing skills and the richness of their creative thinking.

The competition also helps students access and understand social and contemporary issues, and express their thoughts on these issues; fostering and nurturing the feelings and responsibilities of the younger generation towards society, the country, and the world. At the same time, the competition helps them better understand the role of the postal service in life and social development.

On November 11th, the 54th UPU International Letter Writing Competition 2025 was officially launched. Below are some important points for students to note in order to submit entries that meet the requirements.

Contest theme

In 2025, the theme of the UPU International Letter Writing Competition will be: “Imagine you are the ocean. Write a letter to someone explaining why and how they should take good care of and protect you.”

English is: "Imagine you are the ocean. Write a letter to someone explaining why and how they should take good care of you".

According to the organizers, this year's theme allowed students to embody the ocean to highlight the issues they are facing, most notably marine pollution.

Children can use their boundless imagination and creativity to talk, share their thoughts, remind people about the role of the ocean, and share specific solutions and actions to protect the ocean, sea, and marine ecosystems; demonstrating human responsibility, especially that of the younger generation, in nature conservation for sustainable development.

Regulations regarding the competition entry letter

When participating, students should carefully review the rules, regulations, and submission deadlines to ensure their entry is valid.

According to the Organizing Committee, the contest is open to Vietnamese students aged 9 to 15 (at the time of submitting their entry). Participants must adhere to the following regulations:

Firstly, the letter must be the creative work of an individual student, written in prose on the theme of the competition (not previously published in newspapers or books), and no longer than 800 words.

Secondly, entries written in a foreign language must be accompanied by a Vietnamese translation. The judging panel will evaluate based on the Vietnamese translation.

Third, the entry letter must be clearly and neatly written by hand on one side of the paper (note: do not write on the back side; you can write on multiple sheets, number the pages, and staple them together to avoid confusion). Typed or photocopied entries are not valid.

Fourth, in the upper left corner of the contest entry letter, you must include the following information: Full name, date of birth, ethnicity, school address, class, district (town), province (city), and phone number. Contest entries that do not include all of the above information will be considered invalid.

Instructions on how to submit your entry

When submitting entries, students need to do the following: Each entry letter must be placed in an envelope with a postage stamp affixed, clearly stating the sender's address, the recipient's address with the postal code (11611), and sent through the Vietnam Post network.

The envelope should clearly state: Entry for the 54th UPU International Letter Writing Competition (2025). Submission address: Thiếu niên Tiền phong và Nhi đồng Newspaper, No. 5, Hoa Ma Street, Pham Dinh Ho Ward, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi City - 11611.

The submission period for entries is from November 11, 2024 to March 5, 2025 (based on the postmark).

According to the organizers, participation is not mandatory for 100% of students from participating schools. All entries without postage stamps or not sent via Vietnam Post will be considered invalid.

The copyright for the entries belongs to the Organizing Committee. Students are not allowed to publish their entries in newspapers, on television, or on social media before the Organizing Committee announces the results.

The 54th UPU Competition, to be held in 2025, has been officially launched with the theme 'Imagine You Are the Ocean'. This year's theme encourages students to embody the ocean and highlight the challenges they face.