First Arab exhibition in Oum El Bouaghi / Algeria
   By Mohamed Achour Ali Ahmed, AIJP
   A.I.J.P (Association Internationale des Journalistes Philatéliques)

   No one can deny that algerian philately is regaining its vitality these days. This is essentially due to individuals taking the initiative to fight the passivity of the postal sector. So after the success of the 1st Maghrebine Philatelic Exhibition that was organized by the philatelic association CIRTA from the 17th to 19th of april in Constantine, there came the first edition of the Arab Exhibition which was held in Oum El Bouaghi (1) during the last days of may 2007.
   This event was organized for the first time in Algeria with the participation of Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, Iraq, Tunisia and 11 local provinces.

   One of the numerous highpoints of the exhibition was the live TV programme which was broadcast from the "salon" on Canal Algérie as part of the weekly philatelic rubric "Algeria through stamps" presented by the young journalist Nor El Houda BOUZEGAOU.
   A large number of enthusiastic Algerian stamp collectors from the provinces of Souk-Ahras, Jijel and Sétif are on their way to set up their own associations. The number of these will be essential for the creation of the Algerian Philatelic Federation which will permit the Algerian philately to open up to the world.

   (1) Oum El Bouaghi is a wilaya (province) situated in the north-east of Algeria. It was named Can Robert during French occupation. The area is an important wintering site for waterbirds, especially Tadorna tadorna, which are present in significant numbers. It hosts nearly 10% of the Greater Flamingo´s biogeographic population, approximately 4% of Grus grus´ and 4.5% of the Common Shelduck´s. Several Anas species, the Tufted Duck and the Common Coot also winter at the site.