The Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) was founded on 18 June 1926, and is the world federation for

philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is poss ...

based in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Aims

The primary aims of the FIP are: *To promote stamp collecting and philately. *To maintain friendly relations and friendship among all peoples. *To establish and maintain close relations with the philatelic trade and postal administrations. *To promote philatelic exhibitions by granting Patronage and Auspices Since its inception in 1926, when a small number of European federations came together to found a worldwide organisation, the FIP has promoted the hobby that is sometimes called ''The King of Hobbies and the Hobby of Kings.'' FIP works to promote philately in developing countries, in Asia and in the industrialised countries, where it appears to be stagnating. It coordinates contact between the philatelic organisations in different countries.

Governance

The FIP is run by a Board of Directors with a President and three Vice-Presidents. Since 2010, the president has been Bernard Beston, of Australia.

Commissions

There are eleven FIP Commissions which deal with the following subjects: *

Aerophilately Aerophilately is the branch of philately that specializes in the study of airmail. Philatelists have observed the development of mail transport by air from its beginning, and all aspects of airmail service have been extensively studied and docu ...

Astrophilately Astrophilately is a branch of philately which deals with the collection of stamps and postmarked envelopes related to spaceflight. It is the intersection of space and postal history. Covers cancelled on the date and at a post office near the c ...

* Fight against Forgeries *

Maximaphily Maximaphily is a branch of philately involving the study and creation of maximum cards. It is one of eleven classifications of philately recognised by the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) and therefore has its own FIP Commission. ...

* Philatelic literature * Postal history *

Postal stationery A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related serv ...

Thematic philately Topical or thematic stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps relating to a particular subject or concept. Topics can be almost anything, from stamps on stamps, birds, trains and poets on stamps, to famous physicians and scientists, al ...

* Traditional philately *

Revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

s * Youth philately Each Commission has its own Commissioner.

Congress

The FIP Congress takes place annually during one of the international exhibitions that it has endorsed.

Exhibitions

Every year the FIP provides patronage to a number of major

stamp exhibition A philatelic exhibition is an exhibition of stamps and postal history where stamp collectors (philatelists) compete for medals. The displays are shown in glass frames, and the exhibition is normally accompanied by stamp dealer bourses and post ...

s. In 2008, FIP selected

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In 2004, FIP ran its first "World Stamp Competition" in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and selected Tel Aviv for the second competition in 2008. The competitions involved national teams and philatelic jurors.

References

External links

Official website

WADP Numbering System
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federation Internationale De Philatelie Philatelic organizations Organisations based in Zürich Organizations established in 1926