UPU philately workshop reviews new concepts

The need for involving the youth in philatelic activities and adopting new technology for producing stamps were among the topics highlighted at a four-day UPU workshop on philately hosted by Emirates Post at the Emirates Post Training &Development Centre.
The workshop, in which 19 countries from the Arab Permanent Postal Commission (APPC) took part, introduced the participants to new trends in philately. Experts from the UPU, La Poste, Tunisia Post and the Slovak Post were among those who made presentations.
At a concluding ceremony, Mr. Mohamed Bahlul, Director of Philately, Tunisia, said the first UPU level workshop on philately in the region threw light on a host of important philatelic issues and this will help regional philatelic organizations to raise their standards.
Mr. Louis Virgile, Cultural and Commercial Director, La Poste, France, who presented a paper on personalized stamps, said the participants showed good knowledge of philatelic topics and stressed that more such workshops need to be conducted in the Middle East and Africa region to boost philately.
Ms. Eman Al Khaja, head of philatelic section, Emirates Post, said the workshop led to a fruitful interaction among the participants and allowed them to exchange information. She praised the high level of expertise of the speakers and thanked the UPU for organizing the event at Emirates Post’s Training Centre.
This is the fifth time that the UPU has organized a workshop on a specialised topic in association with Emirates Post. The Training and Development Center is the authorized TRAINPOST programme centre in the region.