The Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) has recently made two important decisions in response to the continuing evolution of philatelic exhibiting.
The first relates to Open Philately, an approach to exhibiting whose popularity has increased steadily since the Open Class was accepted in FIP exhibitions several years ago. The formation of an FIP Open Philately Commission has now been approved and FIP Members have been invited to appoint delegates to the new Commission by 31 December 2020. Nominations for membership of the Open Philately Commission Bureau will be invited later.
The delegate for the UK will be BIRTHE KING.
The second responds to the question of whether exhibits judged at Virtual National Exhibitions can be accepted in FIP exhibitions. A statement published on the FIP website on 19 November says that ‘a Vermeil medal at national virtual exhibitions held in 2020-2022 shall be accepted for FIP World exhibitions only in 2021 and 2022, on an experimental basis’.
The statement can be read at: https://www.f-i-p.ch