Notes from an Informal Meeting on Youth Philately in Canada
St. Catharines, ON, Saturday January 25, 2014

The meeting was held during the St. Catharines annual show beside a children’s stamp activity table. Its purpose was to start to build a Canada-wide youth program under the umbrella of The RPSC. 

Attending: Yvan Latulippe (Montréal), Wuchow Than (Hamilton), Rodney Paige (Thorold), George Pepall (Kitchener)

Youth Contest:
Yvan is running a youth quiz contest, with Canada yearbooks at stake for prizes. Information for the contest will appear in the March-April TCP article on youth philately (YP), and on the RPSC website. Youth ambassadors should become familiar with the contest, and promote it in their provinces.

Fees for Youth Club Membership:
$10.00 per club or individual. We must be sure to give good value to all who pay this annual fee. We are charging the fee to have children and their parents see their membership as an investment in the hobby that will bring them rewards, because things that are free are treated with less care. This policy was approved by the Executive of The RPSC in December, 2013.

Value of Membership for Youth Members and Clubs:
All will be sent on submission of a completed application and payment the following:
- A starter kit consisting of a manila stock sheet, two-sided black stock sheet, 5“ tongs, packets of Canadian stamps and of topical, colorful stamps, glassines
and hinges.
- Website access to a youth stamp forum
- Contact information for clubs in their area: adult club if no youth club
- Support from the regional ambassador
- One copy of My First Stamp Album(CSDA)
- A page of instructions and information for support of the child and parent in starting on the hobby.
The kit can be contained in a 9” X 12” envelope, with stamps and hinges in a small sandwich bag or pencil case inside.

YP Ambassadors:
In order to have regional support for young collectors in place at all times, we are planning on putting in place a network of YP ambassadors, who will work with the help of RPSC directors in that region, and in French where helpful. There would be no fixed number of regions, but at a minimum there will be eight ambassadors:  for BC, the Prairies, Northern Ontario, Southwestern Ontario, Southeastern Ontario, Western Quebec, Eastern Québec, and the Atlantic provinces(8).
Ambassadors will keep a supply of starter kits handy, and be prepared to mail them or deliver them to individuals or clubs as requested in the region, or as directed by National Office.

School Stamp Clubs:
School clubs do exist here and there across the country, and should be contacted and supported by the ambassadors. However, access to schools is extremely difficult today.  The key is to find an interested and supportive teacher who can pave the way into the school, provide support and continuity to a school program or club. Some teachers clearly see the educational value of stamp collecting.

Funding and Costs Recovery:
Ambassadors and local club leaders can have all reasonable costs covered by application to the RPSC Foundation, which exists to promote youth philately across Canada. Please apply through the National Office, or through the director in your region.

Other Thoughts Shared:
Yvan is our Canadian rep on the Youth Philately Commission of FIAF, which has an active chairman. We might want to get a rep on the FIP YP commission as well.

Yvan pointed out that at this time we have largely missed out on TWO generations of youth since our own youth: The computer games and internet generation, who still can be engaged through websites; and the smartphone generation. It remains to be seen if they can be engaged somehow.

The Executive and Board of The RPSC will follow up on these plans by instituting the ambassadors in various regions, with the involvement of the directors.

Our hope is to arrange to roll the remaining SIP funds (about $1,500.00) into The RPSC Foundation for YP. SIP is the no defunct group started in London in 2005, with a number of financial sponsors, two of which remain.

Notes by G. Pepall
27/01/14