FILATELIS PEDULI
PHILATELIS CARE THE ENVIRONMENT
FILATELIS PEDULI
LINGKUNGAN HIDUP

PHILATELISTS CARE
FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Ecophila berasal dari kata Ecology yang berarti lingkungan hidup dan Philately yang berarti hobi/kegiatan mengumpulkan prangko dan benda Filateli lainnya. Jadi terminologi Ecophila mengandung pengertian segala aktivitas kepedulian terhadap upaya pelestarian lingkungan yang dilakukan dengan menggunakan cara yang lazim dalam dunia Filateli.
Istilah Ecophila dicetuskan untuk pertama kalinya oleh Cahyana Ahmadjayadi yang saat ini menjabat sebagai Direktur Utama PT Pos Indonesia (Persero) melalui presentasi makalah yang berjudul "Contribution of Philately for The Protection of Environment" pada Kongres Federasi Filateli Internasional ke-64, pada tanggal 6-7 Oktober 1996 di Istambul, Turki.
Gagasan tersebut didasarkan atas kesadaran dan harapan agar supaya pengembangan perfilatelian internasional sesuai dengan perkembangan isu global mengenai lingkungan hidup. Hal ini sebagai perwujudan kepedulian dan peran serta masyarakat Filatelis sebagai penyampai pesan pelestarian lingkungan melalui prangko dan sekaligus pelaku yang bersahabat dengan lingkungan. Sasaran jangka panjang adalah agar Ecophila diterima sebagai kelas kompetisi baru dalam pameran Filateli internasional.
FIP (Federation Internationale de Philatelie) sebagai organisasi Filateli internasional secara rutin memberikan dukungan (patronage) terahadap pameran-pameran filateli dunia kelas kompetitif yang dibagi kedalam kelas-kelas sebagai berikut :
  • Traditional Philately
  • Postal History
  • Postal Stationery
  • Aerophilately
  • Thematic Philately
  • Maximaphily
  • Philatelic Literature
  • Youth Philately
  • Revenue
  • Astrophilately
  • Mophila 
Kelas-kelas tersebut juga diadopsi oleh Perkumpulan Filateli Regional, contoh : FIAP (Federation of Inter Asian Philately) dan PFI (Perkumpulan Filatelis Indonesia) untuk Indonesia.
Masyarakat Filatelis sebagai bagian dari masyarakat dunia harus ikut berperan dalam isu global melalui penyampaian pesan pelestarian lingkungan hidup. Dengan diperkenalkannya kelas baru, Ecophila, masyarakat Filateli dunia diharapkan dapat ikut berperan untuk peduli dan lebih jauh mengkomunikasikan isu global tersebut.
Pada tanggal 5 Juni 1998 Pos Indonesia mempelopori diterbitkannya Prangko seri Hari Prangko Ecophila (Ecophila Stamp Day) yang akan diterbitkan setiap tahun secara berseri. Upaya ini diharapkan dapat pula dilaksanakan oleh seluruh administrasi pos.
Ecophila stands for Ecology or environment, Philately is a hobby/activity of collecting stamps and other philatelic products. The term Ecophila means the whole activities of caring and protecting the environment through common means in the world of philately.

The idea of Ecophila was for  the first time put forward internationally by Cahyana Ahmadjayadi, President Director of Pos Indonesia, Through his presentation entitled :"Contribution of Philately for the Protection of Environment" at the 64th Congress of International Philatelic Federation held in Istambul, Turkey, on 6-7 October 1996.

This idea was based on the awareness and expectation that the development of national and international philately must always take into account the global issue on the need for the protection of environment. This is a reflection of the concern and participation of the philatelic society as an advocate of environmental preservation through stamps and at the same time as an environmentally friendly actor. The long term objective would be to make Ecophila formally adopted as a new competitive class of exhibits in international/world philatelic exhibitions.

FIP (Federation Internationale de Philatelie) as a formally-recognized international philatelic organization routinely provides patronage to world philatelic exhibitions. The world philatelic exhibitions display exhibits which are divided into the following competitive classes:
  • Traditional Philately
  • Postal History
  • Postal Stationery
  • Aerophilately
  • Thematic Philately
  • Maximaphily
  • Philatelic Literature
  • Youth Philately
  • Revenue
  • Astrophilately
  • Mophila

These classes are also adopted by regional philatelic associations such as FIAP (Federation of Inter Asian Philately) and national philatelic associations such as IPA(The Indonesian Philatelists Association). The philatelic society, as a part of the world society, must participate and be involved in the global issue of environment through conveying the message of protecting the environment.
With the introduction of Ecophila as a new class of exhibits, the world philatelic society is expected to play a dominant role in communicating the global issue of environmental protection and preservation.
On 5 June 1998, Pos Indonesia pioneered the issuance of stamps marking the Ecophila Stamp Day. Such issuance will continue to be done annually in a serial manner. This effort is expected to be followed by other postal administrations.