PHLPost launches international letter writing contest

THE Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) invites students 15 years old and below to join the 42nd Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Letter Writing Competition for Young People.

The winning piece will be sent by PHLPost as the Philippines’ official entry in the worldwide letter writing competition to be held in Berne, Switzerland.

The contest is a yearly event organized by PHLPost under the auspices of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), which is composed of 191 countries around the world of which the Philippines is an active member.

PHLPost promotes letter writing to make the youth aware of the role of the postal service in society and to foster affection for writing letters despite the modern modes of communication.

The 2013 competition asks young people to write a letter to someone to tell them “why water is precious resource.” The theme coincides with the International Decade for Action "Water for Life" 2005–2015.

The compositions must be recent and original letters written in English according to the theme of the competition. It must not exceed the limit of 800 words in length in the form of a letter-typewritten.

Entries must contain the elements of a letter, place and date, addresee’s address, opening and closing salutation and signature.

On a separate sheet of paper, the participant must indicate the following information: Number of words of the letter, complete name and address, gender of candidate, age and/or date of birth, colored 2x2 photo, name and address of school/grade or year level and contact numbers (telephone/cellphone).

The first prize winner will receive P15,000 cash; second prize - P10,000 and third prize - P5,000.

All winners will be awarded medals, plaques and albums of Philippine stamps.

The criteria for judging are relevance to the theme of the competition – 30 percent; imagination and originality of the contents – 20 percent; demonstrates a good style of writing and communication – 20 percent; demonstrates an extensive vocabulary – 20 percent and youthfulness of tone - 10 percent.

All entries must be mailed at any post offices nationwide by Express or Registered Mail not later than October 9, 2012 to: Office of the Assistant Postmaster General for Operations c/o Jocelyn E. Cacho, special project officer, 3/F Philippine Postal Corporation, Liwasang Bonifacio 1000 Manila.

For more information, please visit the website at: www.philpost.gov.ph or (UPU) www.upu.int/letter writing/en/index.shtml or call Tel. 527-0108/527-0059/527-0074. (PR)