Philatelic Youth Council (PYC) New Zealand

PYC was created to encourage youth stamp collecting and exhibiting in New Zealand.

In the early 80s a group of stamp collectors organised a full New Zealand Youth National exhibition known as “Stampex’83”, which was held in the Auckland Town Hall in August 1983.

At this stage there was no formal organisation to promote youth philately which was broadly under the NZ Philatelic Federation Executive Committee who in their wisdom decided that the youth sub-committee should become an incorporated society.

At the ‘Stampex’83’ ‘National Exhibition, A Guide to Exhibiting’ was produced and then the Philatelic Youth Council of New Zealand Incorporated was then created.

The PYC manages and moderates national achievement awards for youth philatelists from bronze to gold level. It also publishes a quarterly Fun Philately newsletter.

PYC also sponsors a stamp camp each year for youth club members who are looking to advance from stamp collecting into stamp exhibiting.

The programme is varied and includes

• learning about stamp collecting
• Looking after stamps
• Talks and displays
• Swapping stamps
• Items of your Interest
• Help with exhibiting
• Friendship and lots of fun
• stamps, talks and displays, swapping, items of interest, help with exhibiting, and of course friendship and fun.

At each meeting there is a one page competition where points are earned, and members are required to bring an item of interest to show, to show they have their tweezers, and to wear their Achievement award badges if they have acquired them.  All these can earn points towards the trophy which is presented at the Christmas Party in December.

Points are also given throughout the year to the members who:- visit other clubs when asked, who enter the various competitions, who visit any of the stamp exhibitions held during the year and participate in the club’s activities in any other way at the Leaders discretion.