Sancia Templer (right), deputy president, Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI), accepts a framed set of officially licensed Cricket World Cup 2007 postage stamps from Gordon Brown, the postal service's public relations officer. The presentation was made at an auction of cricket memorabilia hosted by JTI at its New Kingston office on Thursday, June 28. - Contributed

Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI) was recently lauded by the postal service for its role in generating creative Jamaican designs that inspire investment.

JTI, an agency within the same ministry as the postal service - Ministry of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce - received a framed set of officially licensed Cricket World Cup 2007 postage stamps.

In making the presentation, Gordon Brown, the postal service's public relations officer, stated that Postmaster General Michael Gentles recognises JTI's pursuits in attracting further investment in Jamaica and encouraging promotion of the legacy of the recent international cricket tournament hosted across the Caribbean through such prime memorabilia as the stamps. Brown encouraged all gathered to purchase the stamps for their own collections.

Accepting the gift on behalf of JTI was Sancia Templer, deputy president, who indicated that copyrighted items such as the Cricket World Cup 2007 stamps form part of Brand Jamaica, and add to the island's wealth.

The presentation was made at an auction of cricket memorabilia hosted by JTI at its New Kingston office on Thursday, June 28, to raise funds for the Youth Tape Ball tournament. This project, being undertaken by the Jamaica Cricket Association, focuses on the development of cricket skills for inner-city youth while simultaneously striving to generate positive attitudes and accomplishments among these youths.

Scouting postage stamps released

To mark the centenary of the foundation of the Scouting movement worldwide, the Jamaican postal service recently released four postage stamps and a souvenir sheet.

The handover ceremony was held at the Scouting Association's headquarters on July 9.

Guest speaker at the launch, Canon Weeville Gordon, the custos of Kingston, represented the Governor-General, whose dual role is that of chief scout of Jamaica. In his comments, the custos stated that the scouting traditions of discipline and other tenets augur well for the society, as they allow for the moulding of young minds to become good citizens.

The Rev. Barrrington Soares, chief commissioner of scouts, in presenting an overview of the history of the movement, insisted that more scout leaders will be needed. He stated that based on plans to encourage membership, additional scout leaders will have to be recruited for the development of the Jamaican scouting movement and appealed for adult volunteers.

Commemorative stamps

The scout executive noted that the Jamaica Scouting Association's centenary is slated for 2010. Accordingly, a set of commemorative stamps is being planned to highlight that event.

Ohene Blake, a director of the Ministry of Education's National Youth in Education Project, announced that the Ministry of Education is planning to increase the allocations to all uniformed youth organisations. Chairing the function was John Leiba, the Jamaica Scouting Association's executive chairman.

The stamps are issued in the following denominations: $5, $10, $30, $50, $70 and $100. One exceptional design element is that the $50 and $100 stamps form part of the souvenir sheet which has as its background a montage of an array of flags from a variety of countries and interlocked scouts' hands depicting the many races and countries involved in the movement.

Additionally, first-day covers are available for $265, and a special souvenir sheet first-day cover will also be offered at a price of $300.

The stamps are now being sold at all post offices. The items may be purchased at the philatelic sales outlets at these post offices: Central Sorting Office, Liguanea, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and at the Norman Manley International Airport.

20-million-strong

The scout movement, a nearly 20-million-strong group in about 115 countries, was founded in 1907 by Lord Robert Baden-Powell. Scouting was launched in Jamaica in 1910, with the first troop being started in Brown's Town, St. Ann, by the Rev J.W. Graham. The Jamaican movement gained momentum, with the first troop to be formed in Kingston by Harry Mills in 1922.

The Centenary of Scouting (1907-2007) stamps were released as part of an omnibus series with a universal release date. In philately, an omnibus series is a set of stamps done across many nations to highlight the same event. Stamp enthusiasts tend to seek to collect as many as possible of the variety of stamps issued by those nations involved in that release.

World Badge

Globally, scouts proudly wear the World Badge, use the Scout Motto (in their own language), make the Scout Promise, and try to keep or obey the law. Anywhere in the world, another scout will recognise the Scout Sign, the Scout Salute and Scout Handshake.

Overseas collectors should make remittances by United States of America and Canadian money orders or euro currency and should include the cost of return postage by air.