2016Europa - Think Green - First Day Cover

This year the subject of the EUROPA postage stamps is “think green”. Of the two stamps one has been designed by the issuing country while the other stamp is similar for all the countries whereas the stamps form a joint whole between them. On the first stamp the artist shows that work made man from the ape, but what man has done with his wisdom…? In addition to human development and factories with smoking chimneys the stamp features the world’s first affordable and thus mass produced car, Ford Model T. On the wholly green printed cover the electric car has been printed in a stylized shape. It is an eloquent example that green thinking has become popular in the transport sphere. Besides, there are hints on the cover that Estonia created the world’s first country-wide electric car charging network. The second stamp has the winning design of the PostEurop competition, the author of which, woman Cypriot Doxia Sergidou has said: “The main aim is to show that everything is only our hands, wishing to create a greener and cleaner planet. The hand at the upper side of the design represents each one of us, colouring the grey tones into green ones, which symbolizes hope and inspires us to create a better world. The left side symbolizes the polluted side of our world and the great catastrophe which has been created due to the waste depositing by factories, the motor industry, electric power stations and etc. It shows how the results of human activity have a negative influence on our natural environment. Its contrast is the right side of the stamp designed in green colours and using renewable energy; living more sparingly we positively also own our planet. It has no positive influence only to today's generation, but helps protect also future generations in order to exist further.