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

Abstract

Each year the members of PostEurop issue EUROPA stamps on a common theme. One new twist is that all stamp issuers in the PostEurop area are using the same motif. The 2016 year's theme was the environment. PostNord works actively to take environmental and sustainability responsibilities seriously and have set clear, measurable goals. 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 stamp issues are among the most collected and most popular stamps in the world. Since the first issue in 1956, EUROPA stamps have been a tangible symbol of Europe’s desire for closer integration and cooperation. In 1993, PostEurop became responsible for issuing EUROPA stamps, so each year, philately working group selects the EUROPA stamp theme. “Think green!” was the 2016 theme. EUROPA stamps “Think green!” theme aimed to create awareness and give a wakeup call - its time to protect our environment for the better future of the coming generations, and to contribute to sustainable development. In this paper we propose an insight into the history of Europe preoccupations for nature protection and conservation, to bring into limelight the significant concerns in promoting ecological education via thematic issues (in this case, “Think green!” issues). In this context, for this study only, the main objective is to identify, index and describe the main philatelic pieces issued as EUROPA stamps, from the beginning of issuing in this field, and for the first half of the countries involved in the 2016 PostEurop's contest.