By Petro Mkandawire

Blantyre, February 11, Mana: Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) will on February 13 to March 31, 2023 hold its 52nd International Letter Writing competition with the aim of encouraging young writers to express creativity and refine their language skills.

In an interview on Friday, MACRA’s Communication Manager, Zamdziko Mankhambo said the competition is aimed at bringing out innovative thinking which is inherent in all children about the way they see the world and equip them with writing skills.

“The theme of this year’s competition is: ‘Imagine you’re a super hero and your mission is to make all roads around the world safer for children,’ so the competitors have to write a letter to someone using their superpower in order to achieve their mission,” said Mankhambo.

He added that the competition will help learners to improve their writting skills, help to boost their language skills and improve education levels in the country.

Eligible candidates for the competition are Malawian citizens aged between 9 to 15  primary and secondary school learners;  the first prize will be a laptop and gold medal, second winner will walk away with a laptop and silver medal and the third will  win a laptop and bronze medal.

Malawi Writers Union president, Chiku Ndaferankhande said writing competitions gives a platform to prospective writers to enhance their strength, confidence and to work hard in writing.

“The 52nd International Letter Writing competition has come at a right time and such competitions are supposed to be held frequently since there are a lot of good writers but do not use their writing skills due to lack of motivation,” said  Ndaferankhande.

He added that as an organisation they are providing sponsorship to Malawian writers and providing short story writing competition as one way of improving writing as well as encouraging writers to put more effort in writing.

An education expert, Limbani Nsapato said this is a welcome development as the competition will help to improve literacy levels and help enhance quality education.

However, Nsapato said there is need to promote other skills such as public speaking, listening and questioning.

“For skills such as writing to be improved, focus should not just be on competitions alone, but government needs to ensure that schools have qualified teachers that will enhance proficiency in various literacy skills and promote quality education,” Nsapato said.

The post <strong>MACRA to hold 52^nd International Letter Writing competition</strong> appeared first on Malawi Voice.