Even if an exhibit wins the top prize at a so-called “rogue show,” it will not qualify to compete at sanctioned international exhibitions such as CAPEX 22.
The latest example took place in South Asia, where the Bangladesh Philatelic Federation (BPF) is not recognizing an upcoming show – “Jubileepex 2021″ – as an international exhibition. The BPF is a member of the Federation of Inter-Asian Philately (FIAP), one of the three continental philatelic organizations overseeing international exhibitions.
Jubileepex, the unrecognized show, will be hosted this September by the Philatelic Society of Bangladesh, a BPF non-member. The event also lacks an affiliation with an international federation such as the FIAP, Fédération Internationale de Philatélie or Federacion Interamericana de Filatelia (the latter two of which have patronized and recognized CAPEX 22, respectively).
“The organizers of that exhibition have not even sought any co-operation from the BPF in any direction,” said BPF President Kazi Shariful Alam. “This is absolutely their own initiative.”
Royal Philatelic Society of Canada director David McLaughlin, who also chairs the society’s international liaison committee, recently shined a light on what he called “rogue shows.” Exhibits awarded any medals at these “rogue shows” do not qualify for international shows, including the upcoming CAPEX 22, the world’s first International One-Frame Stamp Championship Exhibition, slated for June 2022 in Toronto.
McLaughlin invites prospective exhibitors to contact him about virtual shows to confirm they are “legitimate, supported and sanctioned” by an international federation.