The Cayman Islands Postal Service (CIPS) will be celebrating World Post Day on 9 October by launching two campaigns intended to continue during the weeks ahead.

The first campaign is a ‘Write to Santa’ initiative and the second is a Youth Christmas Stamp Design Competition, both of which aim to get young people involved in the celebrations. These activities will be launched on Saturday 11 October on the lawns of the Airport Post Office. To further commemorate the occasion national athletes that competed at 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland will be on hand to sign First Day Covers from that stamp series.

The ‘Write to Santa’ campaign is to help children learn the art of writing a letter.

“We want our youth to connect with the Post Office,” Postmaster General Sheena Glasgow stated. “The art of writing a letter is still very relevant even in this age of smart phones, tablets and emails.”

There will be a form letter that parents and/or their children can download from the CIPS website www.caymanpost.gov.ky. They can also visit the Airport Post Office or the Philatelic Bureau at the SMB Post Office to collect the entry form. Perhaps they can even write the letter, address it and purchase the stamp on site.

The second part of the celebration is the kick of a national art competition for children and young adults to design stamps for Christmas 2015. Entries will be received in age groups 8 and under; 9 to 13 and 14-18.

The stamp competition’s theme is, ‘What does Christmas in the Cayman Islands mean to you?’ Children can design an image that best depicts their answer to this question.

The winners will see their designs on 25c, 75c, 80c, $1 stamps, a First Day Cover design and possibly a Souvenir Sheet The rules are simple. Please use plenty of colour and try not to leave too much (if any) white space, and do not include the Queen’s head and the “1st” or “2nd” symbols in your design. Sorry, entries cannot be returned. Note to adult:

Please complete the correct Covering Entry Form (available to download at www.caymanpost.gov.ky) and send in with this entry. Please note you will only be contacted should this entry makes it to the shortlisted stage.

The winning designs will therefore be on thousands of Christmas cards during the 2015 Christmas season for all to see. There will also be additional prizes to be won for all entries.

“The Cayman Islands Postal Service is always encouraging young people to get involved through schools and want to continue doing so. It will be an honour to have a stamp issue designed by our children on a Christmas theme,” Ms. Glasgow stated.

“This is a prize that is priceless,” the Postmaster General added. “Stamps are miniature pictorials which travel all over the world and last for generations.”

The winning designs will be selected by the Stamp Advisory Committee, three local artists and the directors of national institutions such as the National Gallery, National Cultural Foundation, National Museum and National Archive. The stamps will then have to be approved by Cabinet and finally by Her Majesty the Queen. The competition’s rules and guidelines will be posted on www.caymanpost.gov.ky

Minister of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing & Infrastructure Minister Hon Kurt Tibbetts commented CIPS on organizing the event.

“While stamp collecting and writing a letter doesn’t have the allure of video games these two practices help children with patience and persistence. Stamp collecting teaches everything from history to geography and writing a letter to Santa will also assist our kids with their communication skills.”