World Post Day

 

 

Theme for 2013: The Post, delivering for people and businesses daily

World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Swiss capital, Berne. It was declared World Post Day by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1969.

 

Awareness

The purpose of World Post Day is to create awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s and businesses’ everyday lives and its contribution to the social and economic development of countries. The celebration encourages member countries to undertake programme activities aimed at generating a broader awareness of their Post’s role and activities among the public and media on a national scale.

International Letter Writing Week 2013

Thailand Post issued a set of four stamps commemorating the International Letter Writing Week 2013. International Letter Writing Week was established at the 14th Universal Postal Union (UPU) Congress held in Ottawa in 1957 with the aim of contributing to world peace by encouraging cultural exchanges among the people of the world through letter writing.Letter Writing Week spans the one-week period that includes 9 October, the anniversary of the inauguration of the UPU. Nowadays the Week is a yearly event in Thailand and Japan.

UPU focuses more on the International letter-writing competition for young people (established 1969) and World Post Day.Recalling the current International Year of Water Cooperation, the 2013 contest asked budding writers to explain why water is a precious resource.Fifteen-year-old Daniel Korcak, from Ostrava, Czech Republic, has won the Universal Postal Union’s 42nd International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People with his letter to the central European river the Oder.

International letter-writing competition

Daniel Korcak (Czech Republic), 2013 winner

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) organizes the International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People annually. The competition was created by the 1969 Tokyo Congress and officially launched in 1971. Since then, millions of young people all over the world, up to age 15, have participated in the competition at national and international levels.

The competition is an excellent way of making young people aware of the important role postal services play in our societies, develops their skills in composition and the ability to express their thoughts clearly, fosters their enjoyment of letter writing, and helps strengthen the bonds of international friendship – one of the basic missions of the UPU.

How does it work?

Each year, the UPU International Bureau chooses a theme. Participating countries organize the competition at the national level through the post, often with the support of education authorities and the media. All entries must be submitted through the national Post. Each country chooses a national winner and submits one entry for the UPU international competition. Entries must reach the UPU International Bureau no later than 30 April each year.

2014 Theme

The theme selected is: "Write a letter describing how music can touch lives."

Read More…