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02.12.2014
Thursday, December 4, 2014, Latvijas Pasts and TV3 will hold a presentation for the stamp Singing Trees (Dziedošie koki) designed by Solvita Kukle, which became the winner of the Latvia’s Pride (Latvijas Lepnums) stamp design contest. The presentation will start at 12:30 PM in the post office Sakta, 32 Brīvības Boulevard, Riga. The first-day cancellation event will take place on the same day in Sakta from 7:30 AM to 7 PM. A total of 1,443 votes were cast for this design idea of the Latvia’s Pride stamp in the social networks. The new stamp will have a denomination of EUR 0.50 and will be released with a print run of 300,000 copies.
The Latvia’s Pride stamp was designed by Daugavpils University student Solvita Kukle, who is pursuing her professional bachelor’s degree in Computer Design. In the author’s opinion, the idea of the stamp Singing Trees symbolizes the Latvian singing spirit and connection with nature, which is most evident during the Song Festival. The denomination of the Latvia’s Pride stamp is EUR 0.50, corresponding to the cost of mailing a regular letter within Latvia, and its print run is 300,000 copies. The release of the Latvia’s Pride stamp is accompanied by the issue of the special first-day cover. The new stamp Singing Trees, first-day cover and cancellation can be viewed here.
Arnis Salnājs, Chairman of the Board at Latvijas Pasts, points out: “The theme of Latvia’s Pride is important for the society. It is obvious from the activity of the entrants and voters of this year’s stamp design competition, which is higher than it was during the contents held in the previous years. Latvia’s Pride is a mirror of our positive work and thoughts, and the stamp design entries clearly show what we are proud of. The winning stamp is the most vivid proof of that fact.”
Baiba Zūzena, CEO at MTG TV and radio in Latvia, highlights: “Over these 11 years, Latvia’s Pride has become a major Christmas event. May the newly issued stamp be the messenger of Latvia’s Pride during the festive period and throughout the next year. May it inspire each and every one of us to remember our loved ones and thank them for the good works every day! May we manage to reinforce positive and bright thinking when welcoming the New Year!”
The stamp design contest was held by Latvijas Pasts for the fourth time, combining the making of a traditional stamp with the communication capabilities offered by modern technology. Both private individuals and business entities could take part in the competition through the website http://jaunapastmarka.lv. A total of 234 stamp designs were submitted for the contest from this year’s September 22 to October 13, which is by several dozens more than in the previous years. A team of judges short-listed 30 stamps for the final voting in the social networks; the selected entries were noted for their originality and conformity to the proposed theme. A total of 6,385 votes were cast for the stamps by the account holders in the social networks Draugiem, Facebook and Twitter.
Most votes in this year’s competition – 3,169 – were cast through the social network Draugiem, followed by 2,175 votes through Facebook and 1,041 votes through Twitter. In contrast to the postcard sending campaigns organized by Latvijas Pasts where half of the votes are usually cast from computers and the other half – from mobile devices, 80% of the voters in this stamp design contest voted from a computer.
Latvia’s Pride is a project which has been run by TV3 in collaboration with the newspaper Diena and social portal draugiem.lv for 11 years, aimed at identifying the selfless and strong-willed fellow nationals who have provided their altruistic help to others and rescued people in distress, given hope and fulfilled someone’s quiet dreams. Over the 10 years that the project has been running, more than 6,000 applications with the Latvia’s Pride stories about people who deserve to be winners of that title have been received. Each year, the Latvia’s Pride awards are presented in 10 different nominations. The Latvia’s Pride symbol received by the prize winners is Zelta ābele (Golden Apple Tree) made of glass.
Detailed information on the stamp design competition, entries and judges is available here. The winning stamps of the previous design competitions can be seen here.
The next new philatelic release is scheduled for January 6, 2015.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with more than 4,200 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by TNS Latvia, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa,
Head of the External Communications Department
Phone: +371 67608505
E-mail: gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
twitter.com/latvijas_pasts; facebook.com/latvijas.pasts
Marta Zandersone,
PR manager at MTG TV Latvia
Phone: +371 67479052
E-mail: marta.zandersone@mtgtv.lv