Inspired by Malala’s words, we would love you to use your words to show how the world can be a better place.
For 2025, we have a new challenge for you!
This year’s competition is focused on Water.
World Water Day is on 22 March 2025, and several of the Sustainable Development Goals focus on water.
Why water?
Water is essential for human survival and sustainable development. It's a key component of many aspects of life, including:
Health
Clean water is necessary for drinking, food production, and sanitation. Unsafe drinking water, sanitation, or hygiene can lead to serious illness.
Economy
Water is a key input for economic growth, especially in agriculture. Improved water supply and sanitation can help reduce poverty and boost economic growth.
Ecosystems
Water is vital for healthy ecosystems and biodiversity.
Climate change
Water is a crucial link between society and the environment, and is important for adapting to climate change.
Human rights
The UN General Assembly recognised the human right to water and sanitation in 2010.
However, the world is facing a water crisis. In 2022:
- 2.2 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water
- 3.5 billion people lacked safely managed sanitation
- 2 billion people lacked basic hygiene services
Some challenges to water access include:
- Growing populations
- More water-intensive patterns of growth
- Increasing rainfall variability
- Pollution
- Droughts
- Lack of clean water in schools
The theme for World Water Day 2025 is Glacier Preservation.
Glaciers are melting rapidly, disrupting water flows and affecting millions through floods, droughts, and rising sea levels.
Mitigating climate change and adapting to the loss of glaciers is essential to protect communities and to secure vital water resources for the future.
What can we do to help?
That is the theme of our competition!
This year, we are asking you to design and write a postcard to the First Minister to show how important water is in our world and what we need to do to look after it.
Your challenge:
Use a language (or languages) other than English to show your ideas, hopes or even advice for our First Minister about water in our world.
Use the postcard template below to send in your entry. There should be a hand-drawn design on one side, and a written message in a language (or languages) other than English on the other side.
Judging categories: P1-4, P5-7, S1-3 and S4-6.
The required message length differs for each age group:
P1-4: maximum 50 words
P5-7: between 50 and 100 words
S1-3: between 100 and 150 words
S4-6: between 150 and 200 words
Individual or group entries are welcome.
Entries will be judged on language use, content and creativity.
Closing date: Saturday 22 March 2025 (World Water Day!).
Winners will be announced at an online event on Tuesday 29 April to tie in with Earth Day, observed on 22 April each year.
Entries can be emailed by teachers to scilt@strath.ac.uk with Words for the World in the email subject line.
A submission form with postcard template and signed consent form should be uploaded for each entry.
Each entry must:
- include a completed submission form and postcard template
- include a completed consent form
- be in a written format (videos may be submitted for BSL only)
- conform to the copyright guidelines
- state the school name, pupil name and age category in its file name.
- include a translation if the language is not usually taught within schools
Teachers should include one completed teacher submission form detailing all entries from their school.
Please note the 2025 competition is now closed. You can see some of our entries on the Words for the World 2025 Awards page.
Winning, highly commended and all finalist entries from our 2022-23 competition can be viewed on our Words for the World 2022-23 awards page.
For further inspiration visit the Words for the World awards page for the 2021 competition.
Image from DFID