Philately opens avenues for deeper cooperation between Arab, Australasian, Asian countries

His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Corporation, who cut the ribbon to formally open the 6-day long exhibition, remarked, "The exhibition and all participants exceeded expectations and the event was excellently organised and well-managed, thanks to the zeal and commitment of Mega Mall and EPA."

More than 200 philatelists and philately-enthusiasts from 24 nations gathered under one roof to showcase their collections; everything from the rarest and oldest, to the most recent and thematic could be found in the exhibition, stamps which depicted years of history, war, politics, and rich cultural heritage.

Abdulla Mohammad Khoory, president of EPA, commented, "The prime focus of this event was to continue to encourage philatelist activities in the country, and make stronger, better networking ties with all countries sharing the interest. In the long-term, the exhibition has helped us open new opportunities to strengthen ties with South East Asian and Australasian countries. We look forward to taking part in the 29th edition of the exhibition to continue our philatelic successes."

He went on to say, "Our own philatelists have made us proud. UAE had one of the youngest contestants at the competition, and we are proud of all their efforts and commitment to out do themselves time and time again."

UAE's Nasser Bin Ahmad Bin Eisa Al Serkal - the 19-year-old philatelist - was the youngest competitor at the exhibition and took home the vermeil medal, the thirteenth one since 2005 for his vast collection.

Organised under the patronage of Federation of Inter Asian Philately (FIAP), philatelists competed for a total of eight medals; Large gold, gold, large vermeil, vermeil, large silver, silver, silver bronze and bronze medals. Exhibitors also received certificates of participation.

HE Mohamed Ahmad Almurr, President of UAE Federal National Council, took home the Grand Prix National award for his marvellous stamp collection on the theme 'The Cancellations and Postal History of Muscat 1835 - 1948'.

Saeed bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Vice-president of Mega Mall, said, "In high spirits of UAE's National Day celebrations, we are happy to say that participants from the country have truly made us proud. Not only was the youngest participant from UAE, locals had an edge in terms of collections and rarity of stamps as well. Competitions like these enable us to see the pool of talent within the country. We are as good as anyone else."

The Grand Prix International was awarded to Prasatporn Eksombatchai from Thailand for his collection 'Siam 1899-1910: The Giesecke and Devrient Printings'.

Australian Gary Brown won the Grand Prix d' Honneur - an award for philatelists competing in the championship class - for his vast collection of rare stamps on 'Eden Postal History till World War I'. The stamps reflected the history, cultural ambience and norms of pre-World War I society in Eden, a small, thriving town in New South Wales in Australia.

With 5 participants from the Arab world receiving various medals for their inventive themes and collections, a total of 200 philatelists participated in the exhibition from which six received large gold medals and 16 received gold, 32 participants were honoured with large vermeil, 46 received vermeil and 37 walked away with large silver, 16 participants won silver, 14 received silver bronze, 7 received bronze medals, and one philatelist was given a certificate of participation.

A signature ceremony took place between the International Federation of Philately (FIP) and Philatelic Society of Malaysia for organising World Youth Stamp Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur in 2014.