Wednesday, October 9, 2024 at 10:14 p.m.
Rabat – A conference and an exhibition were organized, Wednesday, on the occasion of World Postal Day, at the Iklyle Cultural Center of the Mohammed VI Foundation for the promotion of social works of Education-Training in Rabat, in partnership with the Barid Al-Maghrib group.
Speaking on this occasion, the Director of Public Service, Regulation and Institutional Relations at Barid Al-Maghrib, Ikram Taibi, highlighted the importance of this celebration, established during the Universal Postal Congress in Tokyo in 1969 to mark the date anniversary of the founding of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874.
Placed under the theme “The Postage Stamp identity and continuous innovation”, this conference, organized with the aim of raising awareness of the role of the post in daily life and its contribution to socio-economic development, allowed the audience to have an overview of the history and value of the postage stamp in Morocco and the process of philatelic innovation.
Thus, Ms. Taibi explained that the first structure ensuring the transport of mail in Morocco was created in 1892 by Dahir of Sultan Moulay Hassan First who organized the operation of the postal administration through 13 connections, affirming that two stamps allocated in each city bearing 6 colors allowed the cancellation of postal items, one of a round shape used on bags while the other of an octagonal shape to seal letters.
She also highlighted the role played by the Rekkas, conveyors on foot, who carried the mail, traveling up to 90 km, before being replaced later by knights in order to improve the service. postal service by delivering mail daily.
“The Moroccan postage stamp was created on May 22, 1912,” she recalled.
“Just like the national flag and the currency, the postage stamp is an attribute of confirmation of sovereignty,” she clarified, adding that it plays the role of ambassador throughout the world and remains the witness of the policy pursued by each country.
Evoking other important stages relating to the evolution of the Moroccan post office, Ms. Taibi underlined the importance given to innovation in Barid Al-Maghrib’s approach, with the integration of new products based on new technologies. and the development of a digital platform.
In this sense, he highlighted the innovations of Barid Al-Maghrib, including the lenticular stamp, the seed stamp, the green stamp, scented and audio stamps which reproduce the sounds of the national anthem and the Tbourida, making Morocco a leading country in this field.
Barid Al-Maghrib was the author of numerous other original innovations including the application of sand from the Moroccan Sahara using a thermography process and the use of augmented reality for certain stamps as well as a philatelic creation combining a mix of materials and graphic paper, with advanced production techniques, she continued.
Alongside this conference, an exhibition of artistic works on the theme “identity in the stamp” took place, with the aim of representing the various achievements of members of the artistic workshops of the Iklyle Center, combining photography, plastic arts and design art.
