Enhancing and Conservation of Ecosystem through Philatelic Education in Europe: Think Green Concept (III) - FDCs Research Study

Abstract

EUROPA stamps are special stamps issued by European postal administrations and bears the official EUROPA logo, a PostEurop registered trademark under the aegis of PostEurop in which Europe is the central theme. EUROPA stamps underlines cooperation in the posts domain, taking into account promotion of thematic philately. They also build awareness of the common roots, culture and history of Europe and its common goals. As such, EUROPA stamps are among the most collected and most popular stamps in the world. Each year, PostEurop's Stamps & Philately Working Group selects the EUROPA stamp theme. Think green! was the 2016 theme and, also, the one on which we decided to focus our attention. In this paper we propose an insight into the actual history of Europe preoccupations for environmental protection and thematic philately, and bring into limelight the significant concerns in promoting ecological educational via thematic issues (Think green! stamps). The main objective, for the present work and for the next that will follow, is to identify, index and describe the first day covers (FDCs) issued in European countries, starting with Åland Islands postal administration issues and ending with ones from Isle of Man. Although the working method was the usual one, consisting of consulting databases and specialized catalogs and other documentation resources, addressed in numerous other studies that characterize our philatelic side, the results of the study did not cease to surprise us. The pieces that we managed to identify come to show us that, apart from the state discrepancies and the communication dysfunctions that exist between the different postal administrations of the world, a common issue (such as  the Think green! theme in this case) can be more than a good cultural ambassador. Of course, when we refer to the FDCs as a good ambassador, with an undeniable background in promoting the culture and values of a nation, we do not exaggerate in any form. The correspondence from that time, as well as the pieces themselves, as part of a philatelic collection, have by themselves a special significance, capturing the will for better, for the truth and for the beautiful.