KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 29
For the first time in the history of Philatelic and Postal Stamp Management, the Government of Nepal has issued 17 postal stamps portraying the SDGs in Mithila painting.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Secretary at Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Baikuntha Aryal and Director General of Department of Postal Services Indu Ghimire jointly marked the first day of the issuance of the postal stamps by launching the 'SDGs in Mithila' along with 14 other stamps highlighting Nepal's natural and cultural diversity. Robert Kasca, the UN Resident Coordinator also participated in the event. "The SDG Postal Stamps reinforce Nepal's commitment to achieving SDGs and enhances the awareness of Nepal's art sector," said Minister Karki. The SDGs in Mithila original paintings, which are now issued as stamps, were created by local renowned women artists of Janakpur in 2018 as a collaborative effort between the UN in Nepal and Janakpur Women's Development Centre.
"The issuance of the SDGs postal stamps not only highlights the UN's effort to localize the SDGs in Nepal but symbolizes Nepal's commitment and readiness to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The UN in Nepal lauds the efforts of the Government of Nepal to accelerate progress," said Kasca, UN resident coordinator in Nepal.
With the intent of using indigenous art practices to make the SDGs accessible and understandable to all people, the UN Resident Coordinator's Office began localising the 17 SDGs icons into local art forms. After the creation of the 17 SDGs icons as Mithila art, the paintings also travelled to 'Art for SDGs: the Mithila Heritage' exhibition organised by the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York and the Mithila festival at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in 2019.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 30, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
