As part of its World Post Day celebrations, the Barbados Postal Service held its prize-giving ceremony for the 2024 National Letter Writing Competition for Young People on Wednesday.
World Post Day is observed internationally on October 9 and marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) – the specialised agency of the United Nations tasked with regulating the postal sector globally.
On this day, postal agencies around the world are celebrated, and with the UPU’s 150th anniversary falling on this date, the theme chosen was 150 Years of Enabling Communication and Empowering Peoples Across Nations.
The themes for World Post Day and the Letter Writing Competition were interconnected. The competition encouraged young people to reflect on what the world would be like generations from today, and to write to that future audience.
In her address, Postmaster General of the Barbados Postal Service (BPS), Joann Busby, congratulated participants of the competition which was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, “and with a very kind assistance of some very community minded sponsors”.
Noting that the BPS began participating in the International Letter Writing Competition for Young People in 2004, Ms. Busby said Barbados celebrated success in the international competition, and received an honourable mention from the UPU in 2007. She added that three years later, the national entry went on to win the bronze medal globally, and in 2011, it was a joint gold medal winner at the international level.
“Those were three fine achievements in the first 10 years of our participating as a small Caribbean nation, and it is a wonderful credit to our educational system…. It is hoped that very soon we will once again celebrate an international winner,” she told the winners.
The Postmaster General also expressed gratitude to the Education Ministry for its assistance and with judging the 2024 letter writing entries, the supportive parents, and the teaching community for getting their charges involved in this year’s competition.
She added that annually, dozens of countries from around the world participate in the international competition, which means that the winner from Barbados goes up against numerous contributions.
Referring to the national competition, Ms. Busby explained that hundreds of entries were submitted and the judging process was ‘always rigorous’.
She hailed the competition as an opportunity to contribute to the personal development of students and disclosed some of the judging criteria.
“They learn to conduct research [and] express themselves. The judges look at their use of language and literary tools, their clarity of thought, their practical knowledge of the basics of formatting a letter…That is why we take pride in recognising the contributions of these young people and giving them the encouragement needed to continue to do excellently in all spheres of their lives.
“Today, on this World Post Day, we want to say congratulations for another very good effort spearheaded by our Marketing team, led by Mr. Neiai Hall, acting Marketing Officer,” she said.
The Postmaster General also offered advice to the national prize winners. “Always seek to excel in all that you do and say, be a good example to others. I encourage you, as you progress through school and work on your assignments, to be thorough. Always give of your best, and do not be distracted from the goals you set for yourself by others who may be less focused.
“Remember to work harder on the areas that you’re not so strong in, so that when you look back at your school life, you would realise that you’re a better citizen for having chosen to make the most of the educational and other opportunities presented to you,” Ms. Busby stated.