IOM Vilnius postal campaign "Far Is Close"

Patron of the Initiative - President Valdas Adamkus

To mark IOM's 60th Anniversary and to remind people that ever since its founding in 1951 IOM has been serving the world in motion, IOM Vilnius organized a postal campaign "Far Is Close"/"Toli yra arti". During the week long initiative the residents and guests of Vilnius were invited to surprise their family members, relatives or friends living abroad with a warm hand-witten postcard before Christmas.

The campaign was aimed at showing that the bonds connecting people are much stronger than the distance separating them. Travel, explore but keep in touch with your loved ones - this was the key message of the postal campaign.

The first postcards were sent by former Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, the patron of the initiative,  on 3 December during the International Christmas Charity Bazaar in Vilnius Town Hall. The campaign continued for a week in Vilnius Central Post Office and the Lithuanian Post offices in the shopping centres "Akropolis" and "Panorama". On 11 December a mobile post was taken outside Vilnius to a small town of Aukštadvaris.

In cooperation with the Lithuanian Post, all postcards were stamped with a special IOM 60 stamp created for the occasion and dispatched to their intended recipients free of charge. In total, 3295 postcards were sent to different countries across the world over a week.

Partners and sponsors: Lithuanian Post, "Western Union", International Christmas Charity Bazaar Initiative, Vilnius City Municipality.

Information partners: DELFI, "Omnitel", "Coffee Inn", "West Express".