The Egyptian Post Museum: a Strategic Plan to Develop and Activate its Role in Presenting the Heritage of Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Faculty of Tourism and Hotels - Alexandria University

Abstract

Collecting stamps and documents that record the history of post service in Egypt was credited to King Fouad who started his private collection in1866. The idea of establishing a Post Museum came up during the 10th International Postal Conference, which was held in Cairo in 1934. When a good collection was gathered and the exhibition was prepared in 1940, the museum was opened to visitors by the beginnings of King Farouk's reign. The Post Museum of Egypt is located at Attaba area in Cairo. It hosts a large collection of machines used for printing stamps, phots and various artifacts related to post and most importantly a large collection of postage stamps recording the various types and categories of stamps issues in Egypt since 1866.
The stamp collection is a rich record of the Egyptian modern and contemporary heritage, recording of the most important political, economic, and social events of Egypt during that era. The collection also commemorates achievements of Egypt’s rulers, varying between conferences, exhibitions, the inauguration of cities, universities and institutes, political treaties and victories and many other achievements. Such collection can also reflect the Egyptian identity, role and importance amongst other nations at that era.
Unfortunately, the museum suffers many problems such as storage, lack of documentation, unqualified staff, lack of marketing strategy and last but not least, lack of community engagement and social and educational role. Therefore, all the rich heritage locked down within the walls of the museum’s rooms is not used for the benefit of the society. 
Therefore, the researchers designed a strategic plan for the museum to improve its display and activities and enhance its social educational role in the society. The ultimate goal of that plan of development is enable the museum to display the Egyptian cultural heritage on postage stamps and linking the museum to the external community.

Keywords


Volume 18.1, Issue 1
Special Issue for the International Webinar "The Power of Cultural Heritage in Socio-Economic Development”, 2021
December 2021
Pages 1-40