Writing Competition Regulations

1. What is the purpose of the writing competition?

The writing competition “British Council and Me” is to mark 30 years of the British Council’s presence in Viet Nam. Join us to share your feelings, thoughts, impressions and/or memories about the British Council through your time working, collaborating, and/or studying with the British Council in Viet Nam over the past 30 years.

2. When does the competition take place?

  • The competition opens on 1 March 2023
  • The competition closes on 31 May 2023 (23.59 Viet Nam time). Any entries sent after this time will not be considered.
  • The winners will be announced on 30 June 2023 on the British Council’s website and on Facebook.

3. Who can enter?

The competition is open to all Vietnamese and foreign nationals who were/are:

  • partners with British Council in Viet Nam
  • former and current staff of all contract types of the British Council in Viet Nam
  • students of British Council Teaching Centres in Viet Nam
  • British Council exam candidates and customers in Viet Nam
  • participants of all British Council projects.

4. What is the competition about?

  • Share your feelings, thoughts, impressions and/or memories about the British Council through your time working, collaborating, or studying with the British Council in Viet Nam over the past 30 years, and how it has impacted your personal development and life. 

5. How to enter?

  • Entries must not exceed 500 words in length, with an illustration or photo (if any), Arial font and size 12. 
  • The text can be either in Vietnamese or English.
  • Only one entry can be submitted per participant.
  • Entries should be typed and emailed as attachments to ourstory30@britishcouncil.org with the subject BCM_Group [ ]_Aplicant’s Full name_Name of the entry

** Group 1: for participants under 18 years old
** Group 2: for participants over 18 years old

6. Who are the judges (tentative)?

  • Representatives of the British Embassy in Viet Nam
  • Representatives of UK Alumni Association in Viet Nam (UKAV)
  • Representatives of the British Council in Viet Nam

7. Judging Criteria

The judging panel will select winners in two different age groups:

  • Group 1: Participants under 18 years old
  • Group 2: Participants over 18 years old

The judging panel will be looking for:

  • The impact of the British Council in Viet Nam on your personal development and life (50%)
  • Creativity and expressiveness shown through content and form/format (25%)
  • Pervasiveness and inspiration based on the number of likes and comments on Facebook (25%)

8. What are the prizes?

8.1 Final Results

There are two sets of prizes for two different age groups.

Group 1: Under 18 years old

  • 1st Prize: 2,000,000 VND book voucher plus a goodie bag.
  • 2nd Prize: 1,500,000 VND book voucher plus a goodie bag.
  • 3rd Prize: 1,000,000 VND book voucher plus a goodie bag.

Group 2: Above 18 years old

  • 1st Prize: 2,000,000 VND book voucher plus a goodie bag.
  • 2nd Prize: 1,500,000 VND book voucher plus a goodie bag.
  • 3rd Prize: 1,000,000 VND book voucher plus a goodie bag.
  • British Council Earliest Engagement Prize: 1,000,000 VND book voucher plus a goodie bag to be awarded to the competition participant who engaged with the British Council from the earliest days of its operation in Viet Nam.
  • The Most Historical Photo Prize: 1,000,000 VND book voucher plus a goodie bag to be awarded to the competition participant who has the most historical photo of the British Council attached to his/her entry.

Notes: No cash alternative will be offered in lieu of the prize.

8.2 Monthly Prizes

  • The Most Favourite Entry Prize: Each month, the panel will award goodie bags to three entries which have the most likes/comments from readers on the British Council in Viet Nam’s Facebook.
  • Prizes for Readers: Each month, the British Council will select and award goodie bags to five readers with the most impressive comments.

9. Winner Selection

  • Each month, the most favourite entry will be selected and awarded a prize.

- The 1st month: from 00.00, 1 March to 23.59, 31 March
- The 2nd month: from 00.00, 1 April to 23.59, 30 April
- The 3rd month: from 00.00, 1 May to 23.59, 31 May

  • The entry with the most likes/comments of the month will be announced in the first week of the following month.
  • The list of winners selected by the judging panel will be announced on Facebook of the British Council in Viet Nam by 30 June 2023.
  • If the winner does not claim their prize within two weeks, it will be passed to the next reserve winner.
  • The panel’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

10. General Regulations

  • Entries must be abide by Vietnamese customs and laws. The British Council reserves the right to reject entries that do not adhere to the set rules.
  • Entries must be submitted by 31 May 2023 (23.59 Viet Nam time).
  • Regulations on photos attached in the entries: the name of the image must not have accents in Vietnamese. Photos should be in PJEG format. Photos can be photoshopped and edited to enhance lighting and colour but must not be changed in terms of image content, not integrated into an album, and be without borders, text or logos. The image must be less than 1,000 pixels in width. The size of each picture should be more than 0.3 MB but not more than 5MB. The British Council reserves the right to choose to upload and edit photos. 
  • Entries must be on topic and meet the requirements of the competition regulations.  The entries must not be copied from any previously published work. The British Council reserves the right to choose to publish and edit the entries of the competition participants. 
  • Entries must not be published through any other media outlet. Competition participants are fully responsible for adhering to copyright laws as well as ensuring that there is an agreement on copyright ownership regarding props and decorative items (if any) in the photos, etc.
  • Competition participants are responsible for the accuracy of information. If incorrect information is provided to the British Council, the competition participants will be disqualified or stripped of their prize at any stage, including after the prize has been awarded. 
  • Competition participants are responsible for the copyright of their entries.
  • Participants are reminded to ensure that the content of your entry is in line with the competition topic, ‘write to be read’ – so be respectful how how readers may feel when reading your entry and that the content of your entry does not negatively affect the reputation of any organisations or individuals.
  • If it is found that the entries are in breach of the competition regulations, the British Council is allowed to disqualify any entries and photos before, during and after the competition. 

11. License 

  • By entering, competition participants agree to allow, and consent to, the British Council’s use of, and right to publish, competition participants’ name, entries, and other information for purposes of British Council publicity, promotional and news purposes (including use in printed publications, editorial and PR activities, on websites) related to this competition and in line with the British Council’s policies in this regard.
  • Competition participants are responsible for their own copyright. If there is a copyright lawsuit, you will lose the right to participate in the competition. The British Council will not accept any liability relating to copyright matters.

12. Limitation of Liability

  • The British Council is not responsible for the incorrect information of the competition participants. 
  • The British Council is not responsible in case the competition is cancelled or postponed due to force majeure such as network failure, natural disaster, and war, etc.
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