2022 FEPA AWARDS PROGRAM – GUIDELINES

The Board has sent invited member federations to submit nominations for the 2022 FEPA Awards program, which is based on the following Guidelines, approved by the FEPA Board in its videoconference on 13 January 2023.

1. The FEPA medals for exceptional service and 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.

As a general rule, only one medal will be awarded for exceptional service and another may be awarded for exceptional support.  However, the Board has decided that 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 that has appeared in print or otherwise during 2021 and 2022. 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 a 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.

Runners-up from last year’s nominations will be automatically taken into consideration, provided they were published during 2021 or 2022.

The award is an important showcase for the books as it gives them visibility across Europe through being reviewed in the FEPA magazine 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 offer advice on the nominations. Such appointments shall be made depending on the content of the research, and the panel will serve just for this year’s selection process.

3. The Certificate of appreciation is a simple, effective way to reward 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.

The Board encourages and expects Member Federations to make proposals for the  Certificates, 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.

In the meanwhile, you may take note of the deadlines:

Presentation of Nominations	15 April 2023
Decision of the Board	Board meeting in May 2023
Announcement of Awards	FEPA News 43, July 2023
Presentation of Awards	FEPA Congress at Alpe Adria Tarvisio 2023

To simplify and streamline nominations, specific forms have been made available to the federations.

The 2023 Award program for Philatelic Websites will be announced later on this year and the relevant Guidelines will be loaded here.