by David Collyer

The State Council Forum is a discussion group that meets after the Annual General meeting of the Australian Philatelic Federation.  Matters discussed at the Forum can be forwarded to the executive of the Federation for consideration.

The Australian Philatelic Federation and its predecessor hold annual general meetings in the second half of the calendar year.  By the mid 1990's small groups were meeting on Sunday mornings to discuss topics of interest.

The first formal meeting began in 1996 at Brisbane.  Joan Orr offered an open house and a group of local philatelist's and stamp collectors discussed a range of topics of mutual interest.  The basic elements of the meeting stem from that time.  There was a coordinator who organised the agenda.  There was a local organiser who arranged the meeting place and any other requirements.  The meeting organised a record keeper so that something written could be referred to.

This and subsequent meetings became known as the Sunday Soviet.  The term was originally used to describe meetings held at the British Post Office experimental station at Swanage in Dorset.  During World War Two researchers at the establishment found that by holding a combined meeting once a week there were able to discuss topics where others may have useful contributions.

The 1997 meeting was held in Hobart and organised by Erica Genge.  The meeting was held in conjunction with a stamp show organised by the Glenorchy Stamp Club.  A major topic was youth development, it was here that the concept of mentoring was discussed.

South Australia had their turn in 1998. Mike Munzer organised a meeting room in the Adelaide Mail Centre.  Those who attended had a tour over the mail processing facility.  The main topic of the meeting was making information available to stamp collectors through libraries.

In the months after this meeting the Executive of the Federation looked at ways of formalising the meetings held after their Annual meeting so that there could be improved communication.  The outcome was a proposal to hold a meeting of Delegates to the Federation Annual General Meeting which reported to the Executive at a later date.

The 1999 Sydney meeting had a new formal name, State Council's Forum, although its function was similar to previous meetings.  The meeting elected a convenor to organise the agenda for the succeeding meeting.  The criteria to attend was widened so that any interested people could attend whether or not they had been at the Federation annual meeting.  This increased the attendance and brought in a wider range of views.  An executive member of the Federation also spoke at the Forum to outline various aspects of the Federation, in the first year Dr. Druce spoke about the FIP.

The Forum moved to Melbourne in 2000.  As Ken Sparks was the local level organiser one of the issues the meeting looked at was the implications of websites for philately.  At this meeting a number of people brought along displays to show people what collections or exhibits they were currently developing.

The 2001 meeting was help in Canberra. Dingle Smith was the local level organiser and supplied a number of topics for discussion.  The meeting was well attended and there was lively debate.  One of the topics discussed looked at how philately might use the University of the Third Age to interest retiree's into collecting.  The meeting also looked at ways to assist youth philately at exhibitions.

The 2002 meeting was once again in Adelaide. The venue was the Adelaide Mail Centre where the staff provided a guided tour of the facility.  The tour group were able to see the newly installed but non operational video encoding room.  A feature of the forum was the attendance of some young philatelic exhibitors from Adelaide. Their views were greatly appreciated

There was also a trial of a fixed time forum at the 2002 Melbourne Exhibition.  Whilst only a few people attended the meeting did give members of the New Zealand Federation an idea of what the aims and objectives of the Forum were.

The Forum moved back to Melbourne for 2003, and there were significant changes.  The Federation Annual meeting was streamlined so that it was finalised by lunch on the first day.  The incoming executive had their first meeting on the afternoon of the first day whilst the Forum help a separate meeting.  Both groups meet for a combined meeting on the morning of the second day at which topics raised for discussion at the Forum could be discussed with the executive of the Federation in attendance.  Both groups held separate meetings in the afternoon.

Tradition was broken in 2004 when the Annual meeting of the Federation was help at Swan River Stamp Show on the Saturday morning.  The Forum was held on the Sunday but was a 90 minutes meeting covering a limited range of topics.

The Forum in 2005 was held at Purves House, the home of the Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria in the Melbourne suburb of Ashburton.  The format was similar to that of 2003.

A State Council Forum is open to any one to attend.  The main group present are people who have attended the Federation Annual meeting and are not attending the Federation executive meeting.  This can include people who have received Australian Philatelic Order Awards.  The forum also welcomes local philatelists.

Each meeting of forum elects a convenor. In the months before a Federation Annual meeting the convenor writes to State Councils soliciting items for the agenda of the Forum.  One duty at this time is to arrange the agenda in a topical way so what each State gets a turn.  The convenor also produces briefing notes of the agenda topics and distributes them to those who are attending before the meeting.  After the Forum the convenor receives the minutes and presents a report to the Federation Executive and State Councils.

The minutes of the meeting are taken by a volunteer.  This record forms the basis of the submission that is presented to the executive of the Federation.

The State Council's Forum is a useful discussion group whose meeting after the Annual General Meeting of the Federation.  The Forum has developed since its inception and its report includes topic areas of interest to State Councils.

[ Source:  APF News, March 2006 ]