Teenage Larnaca schoolgirl Chara Phoka, 13, has won the Universal Postal Union’s prestigious 47th International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People.
She was awarded the prize on World Postal Day on October 9 after select group of international judges chose Chara’s letter in a global competition involving around 60 countries and more than 1.2 million children.
Chara attends Larnaca’s Droshia high school.
Her winning letter boldly confronted issues such as conflict and migrant smuggling by telling the harrowing story of a letter’s journey from South Asia to Europe.
The gold medal prize giving ceremony for the competition took place at the Berne, Switzerland, headquarters of the Universal Postal Union.
Speaking about the letter, the Deputy Director General of the UPU Pascal Clivaz said: “Chara’s letter is a mirror reflecting the fears and concerns of young people everywhere. Those worries today are overwhelmingly about conflict and its terrible impact on countries and communities. It is something that we, as the international community, must help change.”
The theme of the 2018 competition was ‘Imagine you are a letter travelling through time. What message do you wish to convey to your readers?’
“Through my letter, I wanted to express the way young people feel about instability, conflict and migrant smuggling. I hope that my letter sends a timely message that we need to solve these problems, not just for young people but for everyone,” Chara said after receiving the gold medal.
Chara’s letter tells the story of a letter written following a violent event and how the letter is forced on a deadly journey.
During its perilous travels, the letter changes hands several times: from its author to a courageous young refugee who dies in a harsh sea crossing and finally, in a positive ending, to a relative living abroad.
Clivaz told the audience of distinguished guests and staff: “The message is therefore not only a letter of our times, but also a lesson for our times: We must not give up on the greatness of human life.”
“With my letter, I wanted to give a voice and an identity to refugee children and give meaning to their lives,” said Chara.
The International Letter Writing Competition has since 1971 encouraged young writers aged 9-15 to write letters on a given theme to win exciting prizes. On average over 1.2 million young people take part.
The Universal Postal Union is a UN specialized agency with its headquarters in the Swiss capital Berne.
Established in 1874, it is one of the world’s oldest international organizations and is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players.
