Canada has sent nine exhibits and 19 frames to Bangabandhu 2021, the world’s first virtual international exhibition, which will be held over nearly three weeks beginning on Dec. 10.
Originally scheduled as an in-person event in Bangladesh with approval from the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP), the exhibition will instead be held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The South Asian country has seen its caseload drop from a high of nearly 16,000 new cases a day in early August to about 200 new cases a day in early November.
Named after the Bangladeshi pater patriae, the “Father of the Nation” Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Bangabandhu exhibition marks his birth centenary plus the 50th anniversary of Bangladeshi independence.
Organizers with the Bangladesh Philatelic Federation are also planning to host a separate in-person exhibition with FIP approval next year. Canadian exhibitors would also be invited to compete at that show.
Shown in a circa 1950 photograph, ‘Sheikh Mujib’ earned the title of ‘Bangabandhu’ (‘Friend of Bengal’) from the people of Bangladesh for his role in the country’s independence movement.
NINE EXHIBITORS
This year, the nine Canadian exhibits include:
- a single-frame picture postcard exhibit, “Saint Patrick’s Day Postcard exchange links lonely Irish Immigrants in the early 20th century,” from Alexandra Glashan, of Montréal;
- another single-frame picture postcard exhibit, “Symbols add meaning to century old easter postcards,” from Glashan;
- a single-frame revenue exhibit, “Canada 1930: The Weights and Measures Revenue Issue,” from John McEntyre, of Montréal;
- a single-frame postal stationery exhibit, “Liberia: 19th Century Postal Stationery,” also from McEntyre;
- a single-frame postal history exhibit, “Study of 20th Century Post Cards Rates: Canada to the U.K.,” also from McEntyre;
- a single-frame traditional exhibit, “Canada: The 1933 UPU Preparatory Commission Meeting,” from David McLaughlin, of Whitby, Ont.;
- a single-frame postal history exhibit, “Hong Kong 1945-46: Postwar Restoration of Postal Services,” from Ingo Nessel, of Brampton, Ont.;
- an eight-frame postal history exhibit, “Cyprus-King George VI Definitives Used in Making Up Postage Rates on Air Mail Items,” from Jack Forbes, of Dartmouth, N.S.; and
- an eight-frame traditional exhibit, “The Maple Leaf Issue of Canada 1897-1898,” also from McLaughlin.
“Nine exhibits and 19 frames is an excellent representation for Canada at Bangabandhu 2021, especially considering that less than a month was available to recruit exhibit applications before the application close date,” said McLaughlin, a national-level judge who also chairs the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada’s international liaison committee.
CSN published a full Bangabandhu preview in Vol. 46