UPU News : 2014 International letter-writing competition for young people

THE THEME SELECTED FOR THE 2014 COMPETITION IS: "WRITE A LETTER DESCRIBING HOW MUSIC CAN TOUCH LIVES."

The best letter from each country must be submitted to the International Bureau no later than 30 April 2014.

Rules

Participation : 

• Young people up to the age of 15 years may take part in the competition.
• The UPU International Bureau (IB) cannot accept entries sent directly by schools or private individuals.
• The organizers designated by member countries must respect the competition's organizational principles, which specify that they are solely responsible for organizing the national stage of the competition and therefore must provide all the parties concerned with their own contact details and not those of the IB.
• The organizers should select their country's best composition (one composition per country or territory only) and send it to the IB no later than 30 April.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

All entries must be submitted by post, by e-mail or by fax to: +41 31 350 37 11.

ALL ENTRIES MUST INCLUDE:

• the composition (typed) in either Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish. If the original is handwritten, the organizer should type up the text on a computer and submit the original with a translation into English, French or Spanish (as preferred) of the original composition if it has been written in a language other than those mentioned above.
• a cover letter from the organizing body.
• a duly completed entry form, including the contact details of the candidate and the national competition coordinator; this form is available opposite to download.
• a good quality digital photograph of the candidate, preferably in JPEG format (at least 300 dpi).

PRESENTATION AND CONTENT OF ENTRIES

• The compositions submitted must be recent, unpublished letters.
• Compositions must be presented in the form of a letter ("Dear ……..", include the address of both the addressee and the sender, and end with a signature).
• Entries must strictly respect the set theme.
• Entries must strictly adhere to the number of words permitted in the original language (between 500 and 800).

ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLES

Each member country organizes a letter-writing competition for young people in its territory as suits it best, but preferably with the help of the national education authorities, and selects the best entry. The best entry is chosen in accordance with the general rules of the competition.

Participating member countries must send their best entry to the IB, together with all the required documents, to the IB by no later than 30 April.

JURY'S DECISION AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS

The IB will designate a jury responsible for assessing the letters selected. This jury will choose the best three entries, the authors of which will each receive a medal, and may also select up to five other entries, whose authors will receive a special mention.
The IB will inform the countries concerned of the results by letter.

PRIZES

The first three international winners will receive medals (gold for the first, silver for the second and bronze for the third) struck by the IB, as well as a certificate and other prizes offered by the UPU.
Member countries may also award additional prizes to their international prize-winners, at their discretion.
It is recommended that the prize-giving ceremonies be held on 9 October, the anniversary of the foundation of the UPU, to form part of the activities connected with World Post Day.

RESULTS

The IB will communicate the names of the prize-winners by letter as soon as it receives the results from the jury, in principle no later than early September of the competition year.

Entry form

(One copy of this form must be completed and submitted with all entries.)

Please send the following documents to gisele.coron@upu.int:

–           a copy of the composition (produced on a computer) in one of the following languages: Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish. If the original is handwritten, the competition organizer is requested to reproduce the text on a computer;

–           a covering letter from the organizing body;

–           a translation into English, Spanish or French (as preferred) of the original composition, if it has been written in a language other than Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish;

–           the completed entry form;

–           a good quality digital photograph of the candidate, preferably in JPEG format (300 dpi minimum).

In addition to your entry submission by e-mail, we would appreciate your sending all original documentation by post. Member countries that prefer to send their entries by post only should attach a good quality photo­graph of the author (please do not use a staple or any other method that may spoil the photograph).

Submission of this entry form by the national organizing body constitutes acceptance of the Rules of the 2014 International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People, as well as the specific terms and conditions related to submission of compositions and image rights presented in Section 4 below.

1        Information about the country

Name of country:  ________________________________________

Number of schools that participated in the national competition: ______________

Number of entries received:  _________________________________

2        Details of the national organizing body

Name of organizing body (ministry, designated operator, etc.): __________________

Given name and family name of contact person: ____________________________        

Telephone number of contact person:  __________________________________

E-mail address of contact person: ______________________________________________

3        Details of the candidate

q Girl                     q Boy

Given name:_________________________________________________________________

Family name: _____________________________________________________________

Date of birth: ______________________________________________________

Address:___________________________________________________________________________________________

Name and address of the school: 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Number of words in the candidate's composition (please note that this must not exceed 800 words):___________________________________________________________________________________________

Original language of the composition: _____________________________________

Languages spoken by the candidate: _________________________________

4          Specific terms and conditions related to submission of compositions and image rights

The organizing body hereby acknowledges and agrees that the UPU and any of its partners shall be granted a gratuitous, worldwide, unlimited and perpetual licence to copy, edit, distribute, display, make available, pub­lish and reproduce the composition as submitted to the UPU International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People, including the rights to incorporate the composition into UPU publications; to translate the composition (or any parts thereof) into other languages; and to create adaptations, compilations, summaries, extracts or other derivative works of the composition. The above rights may be exercised by the UPU in any media and formats now known or hereafter devised, and shall include the right to make such modifications as deemed technically necessary to due exercise of the above rights by the UPU.

Furthermore, by participating in the UPU International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People, the organizing body hereby grants the UPU and any of its partners a gratuitous, worldwide and perpetual licence to copy, edit, display, publish and make available the name of the organizing body, as well as any photographs and/or any video footage of the organizing body (including its representatives) taken in connection with the competition or the composition in any format.

The organizing body also warrants that the composition submitted to the UPU International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People shall constitute an original effort of the candidate, that such a compartmentalization the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and that it shall not infringe any third party rights, including without limitation the right to privacy.

In light of the above, the organizing body hereby certifies that the terms and conditions applicable to its national competition shall comprise, by analogy andmutatis mutandis, the specific provisions presented in this Section, and that candidates participating in its national competition shall agree to be bound by terms and conditions equivalent to those presented herein for submission of compositions and image rights.

Communication supports

FOR ORGANIZERS OF THE CONTEST AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

The UPU provides a poster to help you promote the contest among young people in your country.

The 2014 poster can be placed in post offices, schools or other public spaces.

In the poster, spaces enable national organizers to include information specific to them (contacts, national prizes, etc.) and the logo of participating entities (for example, the Post, the ministry of education or others, as required).

To obtain the downloadable InDesign or jpeg files of the poster, please contact the UPU Communications Programme.

FOR TEACHERS

To take part in the letter-writing contest, please familiarize yourself with the contest rules and contact the Post of your country (department of international relations) to enquire about your country’s participation in the international competition.

Source : http://www.upu.int/