“The Heart of the Ocean” Vibrates: Award Ceremony of the 54th UPU International Letter Writing Competition

Representatives of the Organizing Committee and the Jury of the 54th UPU International Letter Writing Competition presented prizes to the contestants.

On May 16, the Ministry of Science and Technology coordinated with the Ministry of Education and Training, the Vietnam Writers Association, the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union , Vietnam Post Corporation, the Young Pioneers and Children Newspaper, and VietNamNet Newspaper to organize the closing ceremony and award ceremony of the 54th UPU International Letter Writing Competition - 2025.

With the global theme: "Imagine you are the ocean. Write a letter to someone explaining why and how they should take good care of you", this year's contest has strongly aroused the imagination, sense of responsibility and love of nature in the young generation.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Duc Long speaks at the award ceremony

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Duc Long, Head of the Organizing Committee of the contest, commented: "The contest is not only a playground to develop writing skills, but also a bridge to help students deeply understand environmental issues - one of the biggest global challenges today". The Ministry of Science and Technology hopes that the UPU Letter Writing Contest will continue to be a healthy and useful playground for Vietnamese students, from which they can practice their thinking, emotions and contribute to promoting humanistic values ​​associated with global issues.

The 54th UPU International Letter Writing Competition attracted about 1.5 million entries from students across the country - an impressive number, demonstrating the wide reach of the competition as well as the increasingly deep concern of young people for ocean protection.

Sharing about the quality of the entries, journalist Do Thi Thanh Binh, Deputy Head of the Jury, said that the students demonstrated a rich understanding of the sea and islands, the essential role of the ocean in human life, as well as urgent issues such as plastic waste pollution, climate change, coral bleaching, rising sea levels, etc.

"Some students wrote letters to the Secretary General of the United Nations, some sent letters to Elon Musk with the message: Before reaching for the stars, please pay attention to the ocean - which is crying out for help every day... bold, authentic and humane ideas have deeply moved the judges," said Ms. Thanh Binh.

The organizing committee awarded the national first prize to Pham Doan Minh Khue, a student of class 10C2, Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, Da Nang.

This year's First Prize was awarded to Pham Doan Minh Khue, a 10C2 student at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted (Da Nang). In the letter, she transformed into the Ocean, sending a heartfelt letter to the famous director James Cameron - who has made films about the deep sea and nature, such as: "Titanic", "The Abyss", "Avatar"... The heart of the ocean is writhing, in pain, about to stop beating and begging an influential person to make a film that will awaken the whole world... This creative and emotional expression conquered the entire jury.

In addition to the First Prize, the Organizing Committee also awarded 3 Second Prizes, 5 Third Prizes, 30 Encouragement Prizes, 61 Promising Writer Prizes, 10 Source of Ideas Prizes and 10 Collective Prizes. In particular, the First and Second Prize winners were honored to receive the "Creative Youth" Badge from the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

Students from all over the country participated in the competition.

Poet Tran Dang Khoa, who participated in the exchange at the ceremony, expressed his emotion at the children's sensitive souls and deep awareness of nature and the country. "When you write letters, you are also writing the future, arousing conscience and responsibility as global citizens."

The students who won the competition were diverse in age and region and deeply expressed their thoughts and emotions. Pham Ngoc Binh Minh, a 9H student at Dang Thai Mai Secondary School, Vinh City, Nghe An Province - one of the students who won the award but could not attend the award ceremony in person for personal reasons, was moved to share: "Although I could not attend the award ceremony in Hanoi, I was extremely happy and proud to know that I won the prize in the UPU International Letter Writing Competition this year. When I received the results, I was really surprised and happy. I felt like I had listened to the voice of the ocean, with both reason and heart. Through the letter, I wanted to express the pain of the ocean and express my own promise: I will always love and protect the living environment around me, starting from the smallest things...".

Poet Tran Dang Khoa interacted with students and shared many interesting things about the UPU International Letter Writing Competition.

For Ngo Bao Minh, class 9A9, Gia Thuy Secondary School, Long Bien, Hanoi, receiving the award is also an extremely memorable memory. Minh shared: "This is the first time I have received such a big award, I feel nervous but also very proud. Standing in the middle of the hall and hearing my name called, I feel that all the efforts in each word I wrote have been duly recognized. Going to receive the award, I met many students from all over the country, who also share the same love for nature and the desire to protect the ocean, so for me it is a very special happiness".

Center for Science and Technology Communication

Source: https://mst.gov.vn/trai-tim-dai-duong-rung-len-trao-giai-cuoc-thi-viet-thu-quoc-te-upu-54-197250519195042277.htm