The Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS), in partnership with Colombia’s Ministry of National Education, invites students, teachers, school administrators, families, and other members of the country’s educational community to participate in the 2026 National Writing Competition, whose central theme this year is “Stories of Peace.”
The initiative seeks to promote writing as a tool for memory, reconciliation, citizenship, and social transformation by encouraging participants to share experiences, reflections, and stories inspired by peacebuilding in Colombia.
Registration will remain open until July 10, 2026. Participants may submit an original short story or essay of their own authorship, with a maximum length of 1,000 words.
The submitted works should address topics related to personal and territorial memory, community experiences, solidarity, environmental stewardship, peaceful coexistence, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, highlighting the many ways in which peace can be built across Colombia’s diverse regions.
Competition Categories
The 2026 National Writing Competition includes two writing categories:
- Short Story: Children, Youth, and Adult divisions.
- Essay: Youth and Adult divisions.
Submissions may be written in Spanish or in any of Colombia’s Indigenous languages, provided they are accompanied by a Spanish translation.
Who Can Participate?
The competition is open to students, teachers, school administrators, educational support staff, parents, and members of public and private educational institutions throughout Colombia.
Foreign nationals residing in Colombia or affiliated with educational institutions located in border regions are also eligible to participate.
A panel of experts in literature, education, and cultural studies will select 40 winning entries, which will be published in the official digital book of the 2026 National Writing Competition.
In addition, the winning authors will be invited to attend the national awards ceremony, which will take place in Bogotá.
The Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) and Colombia’s Ministry of National Education invite the entire educational community to join this important initiative that celebrates the power of words, memory, and peaceful coexistence. Every story has the potential to transform lives and communities. From classrooms, homes, neighborhoods, and rural communities, thousands of voices will have the opportunity to demonstrate that peace is built not only at the negotiating table, but also through the stories people tell, the memories they preserve, and the values they practice every day.
