As part of its Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, Liechtenstein issued a Council of Europe stamp that will arrive on letters sent to the mailboxes of homes, business and organisations in Liechtenstein and throughout Europe and the world. These stamps are a reminder of the Council of Europe’s presence and serve as a gateway for people to find out more about what the Organisation does to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
“I think stamps can also be little ambassadors sending a message. We are one of the 46 members, and we are doing this together. We are in the middle – in the heart of Europe – this is what the stamp represents,” said the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dominique Hasler, at the launching event in Vaduz.
She underlined that stamps are traditionally very important for Liechtenstein and that the country issues a special stamp every time there is a milestone in their foreign policy and that the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe also represents a huge milestone for the small Principality.
“During our Presidency we try to give more visibility to the important work that the Council of Europe is doing. The stamp is of symbolic importance – but there will be other events to give the opportunity to the population in Liechtenstein, but also in Strasbourg to know more about the Council of Europe and to really see the values of the Council of Europe.”
The artist behind the stamp, Fabienne Dorsch, explained that the idea of the design was to show “the room where people actually meet to discuss topics of today but at the same time see the eye that is always open and looking to the future. You can send the stamp on letters going on a journey abroad – a journey which is very interesting – it can be sent by a child to their grandparents to say thank you for something or on a Christmas card. But it can also be an official document that is sent from one ministry to another. So I think it is spread all around the world.”
Christine Böhmwalder from Philatelie Liechtenstein added that “Through our stamps we tell a lot of stories about Liechtenstein, about a small Principality in the heart of Europe, so everybody in the world knows something about Liechtenstein. The stamp is very important because it is part of our cultural heritage – telling the story about the country.”
Photo gallery Timbre national du Liechtenstein - La Médiathèque
