This press release comes to us from the Collaboration Crew, a group of philatelists from a variety of philatelic societies which aims to promote innovative collaboration in the hobby. The group will host an open session at 10:00 am on Friday, August 16th at the Great American Stamp Show in Hartford, Connecticut. 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can

change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

                                                                                                                                                Margaret Mead

Professedly, the value of collaboration within philately has been recognized and demonstrated in numerous fashions. The concept of the Great American Stamp Show underscores strategies whereby philatelic partners work collegially to foster efficiency, innovation and the sharing of knowledge in support of the hobby. Collaboration, however, is not just a mechanism to work together toward common goals; it affords ideal opportunities to encourage synergies that spark creativity and prerequisite responses to emerging challenges within philately. We know that as our hobby has become more specialized, reflected by a myriad of distinct societies, collaboration as a practice becomes more important than ever.

A diverse group of passionate, committed philatelists, dubbed the "Collaboration Crew," has engaged in dialectic conversations resulting in the development of a vision supporting the promotion of focused collaboration between philatelic societies for the benefit of all.

Our mission is to promote further innovative collaboration amongst philatelic societies and organizations worldwide. These efforts are diverse and will support the growth and positive evolution of philately.  We seek to role model, support and facilitate collaborative opportunities. Our key objectives are:

• Knowledge Sharing: Foster the understanding of the importance of collaboration within philately and facilitate education and the sharing of knowledge;
  
  
• Joint Initiatives:
  • Initiate joint ventures that share learning and understanding on a wide range of matters including exhibiting, presentation of acquired knowledge and use of social media to facilitate connections;
  • Have attending societies and organizations work together to sponsor joint presentations or panel discussions at philatelic events;
  • Share successful strategies and innovations among societies, fostering learning from one another's successes;
    
    
• Collaborative Research: Encourage and support philatelic research projects through sharing of data, writing of articles and presentations involving or spanning several societies;
  
  
• Society Relations: Promote consideration of partnerships amongst philatelic societies and organizations;
  
  
• Event Participation: Actively promote and increase attendance at philatelic events, leveraging the collective reach of partnering groups;
  
  
• Future Planning: Encourage societies and organizations to collaboratively engage in challenges associated with the future of philately.

Initial Collaboration Crew efforts materialized at PIPEX 2024 where all convening societies, in affiliation with the PIPEX leadership team, participated in structuring two featured sessions. One of these sessions had societies share successful strategies related to challenges they faced. The sharing was impactful. James Buckner, president of the Society for Czechoslovak Philately, stated: “I now firmly believe that every WSP show (and perhaps larger FIP type shows too) should host a meeting with the convening societies present to discuss ways to collaborate.” The sessions included shared resources and the development of a tool to help assess the successful society and its needs.

The Collaboration Crew, to share insights and successes, is hosting a session at GASS in Hartford at 10:00 am on Friday, August 16th in room 25. We will engage in thoughtful conversation with the leadership and members of interested philatelic societies.

The Collaboration Crew currently includes American Air Mail Society, American Helvetica Philatelic Society, Auxiliary Markings Club, Germany Philatelic Society, Military Postal History Society, Philatelic Traders Society, The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada, and the Zeppelin & Airship Collectors Facebook group. Working with the American Philatelic Society, we aim to extend our outreach and share our initiatives with other philatelic societies.

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