I just came across this message on the FIP website:
19/11/2020
The FIP Board members approved, during the 135th FIP Conference meeting held on 16 October 2020, 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.
Apparently, it was not clear so far that participation in national virtual exhibitions would be recognized by the FIP at all, or that successful participation would then qualify for participation in a FIP World Expo. Lucky now for those who participated in such an exhibition with this very goal.
World Exhibition in Nurnberg 1999
To be quite honest, in today’s times (not only Corona, but also in view of the virtual possibilities in philately) this statement irritated me very much. I would have expected an explanation of why it should only be experimental…… I think virtual exhibitions will increase in the future and this braking by the FIP does not seem to be very forward-looking, at least if you leave this statement uncommented, as it is.
Don’t get it wrong: virtual exhibitions cannot and should not replace live exhibitions (for this they are too much fun), but you don’t have to push the virtual exhibitions aside right from the start. In my eyes, they are a real viable alternative. Maybe the FIP will have to organize a virtual exhibition sometime, too, if its members/functionaries become old and there are no more newcomers to organize exhibitions because FIP did not face in time this need.
But maybe I just don´t understand everything concerning organised philately. In any case, I have made a request to the FIP in this regard, i.e comment on this decision – specifically the “experimental basis”. If I get an answer at all, I will post it here.
Note: this is the personal opinion of DVW and does not reflect the opinion of ÖSVLPH.