Child Art Competition. National Stamps Exhibition “Kurrachee 2011” Special Postage Stamps Sheet June 24, 2011

Child Art Competition. National Stamps Exhibition “Kurrachee 2011” Special Postage Stamps Sheet June 24, 2011:- “Child art” is the most interesting way to bring out the creative instinct in the young generations. It provides the opportunity to express their ideas to the world. To promote this Art and achieve a position in the world of Philately, Pakistan Post is issuing a special sheetlet of 8 postage stamps based on the paintings of the children selected from the Child Art Competition held by Stamp Society of Pakistan.

During the last three years Stamps Society of Pakistan had organized National Stamp Exhibitions and Stamp Drawing Competitions jointly sponsored by Dawn Group, Philatelic Federation of Pakistan and Pakistan Post Office based on FIAP rules at Expo Centre, Karachi, held within the “Life Style Exhibition”.

The Stamp Society of Pakistan is among the pioneering Stamp Society in Pakistan with over 200 members and has been proactive in disseminating knowledge and awareness through regular stamp exhibitions, and is getting popularity day by day. A number of new stamp collector rejuvenated, who also participated in Asian and in the International Exhibition after due accreditation from the Philatelic Federation.

The Youth Live Drawing Competition has been an essential part of every exhibition held for the last three years. The uniqueness of this Art Competition is that all participants draw their ideas on the spot in front of the Jury members within two hours without any external help. Such Live Art Competition for stamp printing never recorded any where in the Philatelic World.

This Youth Painting Competition which was divided in two age groups. Group “A” for children from 4 to 10 years old and group “B” from 11 to 15 years. The competition was announced in the news papers, and large number of children from all major school of Karachi participate in the competition along with their teachers and parents.

Participation and interest of children has increased manifold each year and we have now seen astonishing results, as the children portrayed all the given topics in a very creative manner.

The Committee of Jury is comprised of representative from Stamp Federation, Senior Officials of Pakistan Post and Mr. Adil Salahuddin, (Sitar-e-Imtiaz), who judged the paintings. After looking at the paintings the jury observed that the cultural influence was more dominant, children not only got inspiration from normal life, but also draw images from their surroundings. They are aware of the political situation prevailing in country which they depict in their paintings. The earliest understanding of a more realistic representation of space such as using their creativity art skills.

On the occasions of National Stamp Exhibition “Kurrachee 2011” the similar competition for the Youth is also arranged at Expo Center Karachi.

Following are the names of Children who’s paintings are selected to be reproduced on the sheetlet of Special Postage Stamps issued by the Pakistan Post on June 24, 2011.

An interior of a house in Swat. By Mahnoor Rafi Age:13 School: Student Academy	Historical Monuments of Pakistan. By Aimen Khan Age:13 School: St-Patricks Girls School	Independence Day Celebrations, with traditional Dresses of the Provinces. By Khurram Jahangir Khan Age: 15 School: City School
Campaign against Pollution in Karachi. By Laiba Jawaid Age:9 School: Shahwilayat Public School	Tradition bread making Scene in a village in Sindh. By Vania Rizvi Age: 12 School: Bay View School	The Sun rise scene in the beach, Karachi. By Mahnur Zahid Age: 5 School: Origins Elementary School
Girls Wear bright colourd, billowing costumes to perform a traditional dance in Kalash Valley. By Naveera Jabeen Age: 14 School: Charter House Public School	Pollution Free Pakistan. By Ali Nazim Age:5 School: Spring Field School

This is the second time that the paintings selected from a live Stamp Drawing Competition are depicted on stamps and third time for the Child Art, as the first time it was printed 32 years ago on International Childrens Year when 4 stamps and a souvenir sheet issued October 22, 1979. Pakistan Post always encourage the youth and opened up the doorway to young artists of Pakistan.

The combined team work of Pakistan Post Mr. Adil Salahuddin, the Organizers Mr. Iqbal Nanjee (Chairman of Organizing committee & President), Engr. Afzal Nanjee, Mr. Usman Tahir of Stamp Society of Pakistan, and the officials of Philatelic Federation who took keen interest in organizing the events.

PAKISTAN RUSSIA FRIENDSHIP. DATE OF ISSUE:- 10/06/2011

Pakistan – Russia Friendship. Commemorative Postage Stamp June 10, 2011:- Diplomatic relations between Pakistan and USSR were established on May 1, 1948 through the agreement concluded in New York by Sir Zafrulla Khan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, and Andrei A. Gromykok, the First Deputy Foreign Minister of USSR, and succeeded by a consequent exchange of the relevant notes. Shortly the Embassies of the USSR and Pakistan commenced their functioning.

At the end of 1948, the first trade delegation from USSR visited Pakistan. In November of 1949 representatives of the Union of Soviet Writers came to Lahore. During the first years after establishment of diplomatic relations, trade between the USSR and Pakistan was carried on under single contracts. It was a genuine breakthrough when the parties signed the first intergovernmental trade agreement in 1956, granting most favoured nation treatment to each other.

Presidents of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan visited Moscow: Mohammad Ayub Khan – twice, in 1965 and 1967 and Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan in 1970. In 1968 and 1969 Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers Alxey N. Kosygin visited Islamabad. In the course of the visits, a number of important agreements were signed paving the way for further progressive development of trade and economic ties. Agreements in Search and Prospecting the Oil signed in 1961 and on Economic and technical Assistance to Pakistan in the Construction of a Steel Mill (1971) are to be mentioned among them.

The USSR played a pivotal role in the settlement of the armed conflict of 1965 between Pakistan and India. Both parties were offered USSR’s good offices with signing of the famous Tashkent Declaration in January 1966 crowning mediatory role of USSR (Alexey N. Kosygin, Mohammad Ayub Khan and the Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri took part in the ceremony). That document laid the corner stone for normalization of relations between the two largest countries of South Asia and set good example of the settlement of complex interstate disputes.

Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto visited Moscow twice – firstly, as the President in 1972 and secondly, as the Prime Minister in 1974. Exchange of delegations rose visibly, legal and contractual foundation expanded. The volume of Soviet – Pakistani trade almost tripled in 1970 – 1979. Cooperation with Pakistan in the economic sphere, limited to the USSR assistance in geological prospecting of oil and gas fields till the end of 1960s, were diversified and considerably increased in 1970s. It was with the assistance of USSR that the construction of a steel mill, now the flagship of the industry of Pakistan, began in Karachi in 1973. In the second half of the 1970s Soviet specialists constructed the biggest, at that time, Guddu Thermal Power Station, which was put into operation in 1980. By 1976 a medium – wave broadcasting radio station had been erected in the vicinities of Islamabad with the USSR assistance. The USSR continued to assist in searching oil, gas and other natural resources in the Pakistan’s territory. It is worth mentioning that nowadays there are quite a number of oil and gas fields under operation discovered by Soviet Geologists.

It was an auspicious trend that bilateral trade between Russia and Pakistan has been significantly growing for recent years. Its volume amounted to 92 million US $ in 2003; it was 411,4 million in 2006; 630 million in 2008 and over 400 million in 2009. Nowadays the volume of bilateral trade between both the countries has increased by 700 million dollars.

Russia attaches great importance to its relations with Pakistan, particularly taking into account the latter’s influence in South and South – West Asia, which directly border southern frontiers of the CIS, and in the Muslim World, particularly its significant role in the war against international terrorism. Both countries have been effectively and constructively cooperating within the UN and other international organizations. Mutual support granted to each other when the issues of accepting Russia and Pakistan as observers to the OIC and SCO were under consideration was an illustrative demonstration of the closer relations.

Presently, our cooperation within those organizations is gaining momentum. It is a matter of deep satisfaction that the stands of Russia and Pakistan on a wide range of international problems including issues of peaceful crises settlement, formation of the multi-polar world order, strengthening of the central role of the UN and consolidation of the international law principles in relations between states are similar.

The first bilateral Agreement on Cultural and Scientific Cooperation signed in 1965 became a notable landmark. Contacts between public and scientists of the USSR with Pakistan were found revitalized. In the midst of 1960s, Societies for Friendship and Cultural Relations between the peoples of the two countries were established. The Pakistani Society was headed by the outstanding poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Laureate of the International Lenin Prize for Strengthening Peace among Peoples. Representatives of academic and creative circles’ intelligentsia of both countries formed a core of those organizations. Scholars of the Pakistani Studies’ Sector of the Institute of Oriental Studies under the USSR Academy of Sciences established in 1964 also vigorously participated in the activities of the Soviet Society.

In year 2011, Russian Federation is celebrating 50 years of sending first Russian astronaut in space. First time in the history of Pakistan, 50 Years of Russia in Space Stamp Exhibition was organized at Friendship House by Consul General of the Russian Federation in Karachi where collection of M. Arif Balgamwala T.I.was exhibited.

In year 2011, after several years, President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari visited Russia to meet his counterpart. Pakistan attaches great importance to the President’s visit and envisioned to cement ties and open new horizon of economic cooperation.

To commemorate Pakistan – Russia Friendship, Pakistan Post is issuing a Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs. 8/- denomination on June 10, 2011.

Pakistan HIV Awareness Campaign, Date of Issue:- 08/06/2011

HIV Awareness Campaign. Commemorative Postage Stamp June 8, 2011:- The year 2011 marks 30 years of AIDS. Over that period, AIDS has claimed more than 25 million lives and more than 60 million people have become infected with HIV, according to the United Nations. Each day, more than 7,000 people are newly infected with the virus, including 1000 children. No country has been unaffected by this worldwide epidemic.

A report by the United Nations Secretary – General, Ban Ki-moon, recognizes that HIV programmes are working. Global HIV incidence is declining, across to treatment is expanding, and there is a global movement to demand respect for the dignity and human rights of everyone vulnerable to, and affected by HIV. The epidemic and the response it has generated have changed our world, elevating global health inequity on the worldwide political agenda and placing people at the centre of health, development and human rights efforts.

“These accomplishments, while promising, are insufficient and in jeopardy,” says the Secretary – General’s report. “Stigma, discrimination and gender inequality continue to undermine efforts to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. An unsustainable trajectory of costs and the effects of a global economic downturn combine to threaten progress.”

The need to sensitize the population to the AIDS risk continues. As part of the United Nations family working towards achieving the Millennium Goal for Development of halting or beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015, the Universal Postal Union , the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the international Labor Organization and UNI Global Union joined together to launch a worldwide HIV-prevention campaign through the postal network in 2009.

The campaign’s first phase aims to broaden the larger public’s knowledge about how HIV is transmitted. The global postal network is being used as a unique vehicle for conveying an important HIV-prevention message. Eye-catching posters, Postcards and informative materials are on display in post offices in several countries worldwide are participating in this phase.

The second phase focuses on raising awareness of HIV prevention among the postal workforce. With over 5 million employees, the global postal sector is one of the largest employers in the world. Without a healthy and productive workforce, Posts cannot meet their customers’ important communication needs. This is why it is important for postal staff, their families and the postal sector as a whole to be aware of health risks, such as HIV infection. During this phase, the UPU is working with the International Labour Organization and UNI Global Union. Guidelines have been developed to help Posts put in place appropriate HIV workplace policies. The purpose of these policies is to protect and assist postal employees living with HIV and provide training to all staff about the importance of HIV prevention. The guidelines will be distributed to UPU member countries in 2011.

The final phase of the public campaign uses philately to draw attention to the fact that the AIDS epidemic has been around for 30 years and the importance of protecting oneself from HIV. The worldwide campaign culminates in June 2011, as the world marks 30 years since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. To mark this landmark year, many UPU member countries will issue special stamps or other philatelic products to mark 30 years of the AIDS epidemic. Several stamp issues are planned to coincide with UNAIDS’ high-level meetings taking place in June 2011 during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

On HIV Awareness Campaign, Pakistan Post is issuing a Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs. 8/- denomination on June 8, 2011.

Monthly Universal Post

Monthly Universal Post for the month of June 2011 has been printed. This magazine includes philatelic information. You will find here the information regarding new issue of Pakistan and World Wide. If you are interested to purchase this magazine kindly contact Malik Sadiq, Editor Monthly Universal Post. Email: universalpost@hotmail.com