Written across the United Arab Emirates, young Filipinos now have a platform to combine their storytelling skills with modern technology through a competition centered on their mother tongue.
The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi has opened its Tagalog Children’s Story Writing Contest, a project tied to this year’s observance of Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa. Entrants must be Filipino nationals living in the UAE who are 18 years old or younger, and each may submit a single original story crafted in Tagalog.
A distinctive requirement sets this contest apart: every entry must be paired with an illustration produced through artificial intelligence. The event follows this year’s national language theme, “Wikang Filipino at AI: Kasangkapan sa Pananaliksik at Tulay sa Yaman ng Impormasyon,” which frames AI as an instrument for research, learning, and wider access to knowledge.
Judges will weigh submissions across four measures. Creativity and originality account for 30 percent of the score, while relevance to the theme and the promotion of Filipino values and culture make up 25 percent. Command of the Filipino language carries another 25 percent, and the ethical and effective use of AI rounds out the remaining 20 percent. The three highest-scoring entries will be named winners.
Stories carry firm content standards. Each must advance Filipino values, culture, traditions, or a meaningful life lesson, remain suitable for readers under 12, and stay within a 500-word limit. Participants are also required to name the AI platform or platforms they relied on and to describe how the technology shaped their work, whether through idea generation, editing, language refinement, or the creation of illustration prompts.
Beyond the writing itself, the Embassy has laid out conditions for eligibility. Entries must be original, previously unpublished, produced by the participant, and clear of any copyright or intellectual property concerns. Those who take part also grant the Embassy the right to publish and reproduce their stories for cultural and educational purposes, provided the author receives proper credit.
Submissions will be accepted from August 1 to August 21, 2026, and must be sent electronically to the Embassy’s official email address at auhpe@philembassy.ae. The same address serves as the point of contact for anyone seeking additional details or submission guidelines.
