COVER N. 523 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O. Colombo Mail 10.09.24

Posted on the 9th October; Received on the 14th October 2024

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UPO anniversary cover for World Post Day, from Sri Lanka. Thanks a lot Ravi!

 

The Universal Postal Union was created in 1874, in Bern, Switzerland, where it has been headquartered ever since, as the General Postal Union, with a view to harmonising international mail delivery. As of  1878 it changed its name to the current designation, Union Postale Universelle or Universal Postal Union, and in 1948 it became a body of the United Nations.

During its 1969 congress held in Japan, the Indian delegation proposed that the anniversary day for the Union - the 9th of October - should thenceforth be declared World Post Day. 

The proposal having been accepted, the 9th of October has become synonymous with celebrating postal services and their relevance, all over the world.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the organisation, so a lot of its members are issuing stamps  dedicated to the occasion, under the motto 1250 years of enabling communication and empowering peoples across nations, with their designs being basing in the official graphic resources created by the UN agency for the occasion.

Such is the case of Sri Lanka who, on World Post Day,  issued the two 50 rupee stamps  on the cover, cancelled with a postmark of this particularly significant date, from the central Post Office at Colombo.

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