6/1967
Wednesday, 08 November 1967

Commemorative Issue
Cyprus Art Exchibition in Paris

The exhibition "Treasures of Cyprus" being organized in Paris by the competent French and Cypriot authorities in the Museum of Decorative Arts at the Louvre, from the 7th November 1967 to the 3rd January 1968, covers a period of eight thousand years of Cypriot art and history.

On display there will be about two hundred and fifty works of art representative of the various periods from the 6th millennium B.C. to the 19th century A.D. The exhibition is presented in three sections: Ancient, Byzantine and Popular Art. Also on view will be a number of photographs of gothic monuments, other historical sites as well as landscapes of Cyprus.

The stamp depicts the Crucifixion from an icon of the 13th century, from the collection of Phaneromeni, Nicosia. This is a double face icon of excellent palaeologian art; on one face it depicts the Crucifixion and on the other the Virgin Mary.

5/2008
Thursday, 05 June 2008

Commemorative Issue
Olympic Games 2008 - Beijing

The Olympic Games created by the Ancient Greeks and now belonging to the entire humanity, constitute an institution through which the noblest ideals of the human spirit are expressed. The Olympic Games were organized for the first time in 776 BC in ancient Olympia, having as first competition the "stadium", namely a 200-yard dash. Subsequently, 23 other competitions were added and the games gradually developed from a simple athletic event into a mental and spiritual creation and into a place fordisplaying virtue, morals, mental and spiritual cultivation. The apex of these morals is the concept of "truce", namely the suspension of hostilities for the unhindered conduct of the games and noble emulation far from wars, vain competitiveness, political expediencies, ideological contradictions and racial hatreds. The Olympic Games were revived in modern times, in 1896, by French Baron Pierre de Coubertin and the first contemporary Olympic Games took place in the same year in Athens.

Cyprus is participating for the eighth consecutive time in the summer Olympic Games Which take place this year in the capital of China, Beijing. On this occasion and to honour the event, Cyprus issues the commemorative stamps series established since 1964. This series consists of four stamps representing the competitions of sailing, high jump, tennis and shooting, competitions in which Cypriot athletes participate.

6/2008
Thursday, 05 June 2008

Commemorative Issue
La Francophonie Summit

The 12th Conference of Heads of State and Government using French as a common language (La Francophonie) will be held in Quebec Cily, Canada, in October 2008. The Summit coincides with the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the city by Samuel de Champlain.

La Francophonie is represented worldwide by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), an intergovernmental organisation encompassing 68 countries in the five continents, 14 of which belong to the European Union. Prompted by its desire to participate in an important international forum that is founded on the use of French as a common language and the sharing of common values, Cyprus joined the OIF as an associate member in 2006. These common values are solidarity and cooperation, the promotion of democracy and the rule of law, the respect of human rights, the promotion of peace and safety, as well as the protection of cultural heritage and promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity.