Speech by the UPU Director General at the International Letter-Writing Competition Ceremony

Friday, 19 September 2025, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Dear Colleagues,

We have spent the past two weeks discussing our future. Now it is time to hear from our future: young people.

This year we asked them to give the ocean a voice and drive action towards its preservation.

All of the letters we received moved us - but in the end, three letters stood out.

In third place, Kanlanfe Ingrid Ouali from Burkina Faso.

In her letter, she beautifully connects the fate of the ocean to that of humanity.

In second place, Phạm Đoàn Minh Khuê from Viet Nam.

She writes a powerful film proposal from the ocean to director James Cameron, capturing the ocean's plea for preservation.

The final letter brought with it a tidal wave of emotion - our first-place letter, written by Reyyan Demiriz from Türkiye.

I also want to acknowledge some young people who - although they did not place in the competition - earned special mentions from our judges. They are the finalists from:

• Brazil;
• China;
• Georgia;
• the Islamic Republic of Iran; and
• Malaysia.

I wish to thank our partners - the International Maritime Organization and UNESCO - for their support and enthusiasm in building momentum for this year's competition.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to express my sincere thanks to our judging panel. They had the very difficult job of choosing only three young people to receive medals here today.

Thank you for your kind attention.