FEPA Awards Guidelines
2024 FEPA AWARDS PROGRAM – GUIDELINES
According to Art. 9.7 of the FEPA Statutes, “the Board shall define and maintain guidelines for awarding the FEPA Medals and Certificates”.
In its videoconference on 24.11.2023, the Board approved the following Guidelines, which are valid for the 2024 Awards Program.
1. The FEPA Medals for Exceptional Service and Support. Candidates nominated for these awards must be individuals (not teams or groups of persons) who have provided outstanding (i.e., quality) service and/or support to European philately extending beyond purely national achievements. Other philatelic merits (e.g., study and research, exhibiting awards, publications, years of service) per se do not constitute a reason for the award.
Generally, only one medal will be awarded for exceptional service, and another may be awarded for exceptional support. However, an additional medal may be awarded “in memoriam” if a suitable nomination is made.
2. The FEPA Medal for Exceptional Philatelic Study and Research will be awarded to a publication appearing in print or otherwise during 2023. The medal recognises outstanding philatelic study and research, which does not necessarily have to be on a European theme. This publication should demonstrate high professional standards and stand as a model at the European level of how work on a philatelic theme should be generated and presented.
The medal may be awarded to more than one work, or none, in any particular year. The runners-up for the medal will receive a certificate. The medal is awarded to a maximum of two authors; in case of a larger number, only the leader will receive the medal, and all other co-authors will be given a certificate.
The award is an important showcase for the works as it gives them visibility across Europe through being reviewed in FEPA NEWS, the Journal of European philately, and presented on its website. Due to the breadth of subjects and related competencies required to assess the research, the Board will appoint a panel of experts to advise on the nominations. Such appointments shall be made depending on the research content, and the panel will serve just for this year’s selection process. To ease such assessment, publications must be presented as a PDF file that will be circulated to the panel’s members and the FEPA Board members. It is at the discretion of the nominees to additionally submit a paper copy of the work, which, after the assessment, will be donated to a philatelic institution chosen by the Board.
3. The Certificate of Appreciation effectively rewards a philatelic society (not a member federation) for outstanding activities and services to the local community. When they receive the award, the recipients always show joy and enthusiasm, and by being able to announce such acknowledgement to their local community, they become more visible, attract more attention and support, and, hopefully, new members.
A significant change this year is that proposals for Certificates of Appreciation may be presented at any time during the year for consideration by the Board. In principle, the Board will make a decision on the proposal not later than 90 days after receiving it.
The Board encourages and expects Member Federations to make proposals for the Certificates of Appreciation, as it is aware that many deserving societies exist and will be pleased to award them the Certificate. As the Statutes do not limit the number of Certificates to be delivered yearly, the Board will award as many Certificates as are justified by the nominations.
4. Medals will be presented at the yearly FEPA Congress. Certificates will be mailed to the nominating Federations, and it is strongly recommended that Federations should present them formally to the recipients at an important philatelic event.
Notes:
- Specific forms have been made available to the member federations to simplify and streamline nominations.
- All nominees must sign a form accepting the nomination. All communications are with the nominating FEPA member via email.
- In the future, the Award program for innovative approaches in Digital Philately (Kiddle medal) will have a two-year frequency; hence, the relevant guidelines will be announced as a part of next year’s FEPA Award program.
- As the nominations for the Kiddle medal are proposed by the general Internet public, it is anticipated that certificates will be mailed directly to the awardees.
Deadlines for 1 and 2: | |
Announcement | 10 December 2023 |
Presentation of Nominations | 15 April 2024 |
Decision of the Board | Board meeting in the last week of April 2024 |
Announcement of Awards | FEPA News 45, July 2024 |
Presentation of Awards | FEPA Congress at Hafnia 2024 |