Poland’s largest literacy contest for primary school pupils was organised for the sixth time by educational publisher Nowa Era. Altogether 1,500 pupils took part in the contest, and this year also Ukrainian pupils studying in Polish schools were invited to join. The book containing the winning stories is now released.
Following this year’s theme for the contest, ‘curiosity’, the participants were given an assignment to write a detective story. The outcome took the jury by astonishment – showing the endless curiosity and creativity of children. Writing a detective story is a difficult form of writing – requiring analytical thinking and ability to construct a gripping plot. The participants' task was to define a riddle or mystery – a secret that keeps them awake at night – and then to describe how the mystery is being investigated and solved. The participants rose to the challenge and provided stories with unlimited creativity. The range of topics was extremely wide. 1,500 wonderful stories proved that there really are no limits to children's curiosity.
This year’s contest was a special one as also Ukrainian children registered in Polish schools were able to participate in their native language. Due to the high amount of excellent stories, Nowa Era decided to increase the number of winners and awarded 33 young authors – thirty from Poland and three from Ukraine. The winners made their debuts in a book containing all the awarded stories. The book has also been translated into Ukrainian and is now available from this link. All the revenue from the sales of these books will be donated to charity.
What is the most important question in pupils’ minds?
As part of the annual contest, Nowa Era conducts a survey for the participants. This year’s survey followed the theme of curiosity. The pupils had the opportunity to ask one question to an expert. As many as 39 percent of the pupils asked questions of an ethical or philosophical nature: about humanity, the meaning of existence, fate, life after death and concepts such as happiness, success or evil. In second place were questions about life in space: whether we will eventually colonise other planets, whether we will be able to contact alien civilisations and how big the universe actually is. Other questions included topics related to the war in Ukraine: when the war will end, what can be done to make the world peaceful and how the world will change after the war is over.
Kids got Talent competition has been arranged since 2017 to encourage and engage children in reading and writing. Promoting literacy is an essential part of Sanoma’s Sustainability Strategy. Our learning products and services enable teachers to develop the talents of every child to reach their full potential. We offer printed and digital learning content as well as digital learning and teaching platforms for primary, secondary and vocational education.
Nowa Era
Nowa Era is the largest educational publisher in Poland, with a comprehensive and modern portfolio covering all educational segments and school subjects, including foreign languages and products for children with special educational needs. Nowa Era is part of the Sanoma Learning business unit within Sanoma Group, serving over 25 million students in 12 countries.
Sanoma
Sanoma is an innovative and agile learning and media company impacting the lives of millions every day. Our Sustainability Strategy is designed to maximise our positive impact on society and to minimise our environmental footprint. We are committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and signatory to the UN Global Compact.
Our learning products and services enable teachers to develop the talents of every child to reach their full potential. We offer printed and digital learning content as well as digital learning and teaching platforms for primary, secondary and vocational education, and want to grow our business.
Our Finnish media provide independent journalism and engaging entertainment also for generations to come. Our unique cross-media position offers the widest reach and tailored marketing solutions for our business partners.
Today, we operate in twelve European countries and employ more than 5,000 professionals. In 2021, our net sales amounted to approx. 1.25bn€ and our operational EBIT margin excl. PPA was 15.8%. Sanoma shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. More information is available at sanoma.com.
