Draft:Phonecards International Meeting
International telephone card event
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The PIM – Phonecards International Meeting is an international event dedicated to telephone card collecting and the history of public telephony.
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Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Redavide1982 (talk) 13:58, 14 May 2026 (UTC)
| PIM Phonecards International Meeting | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Collecting |
| Dates | April |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Locations | Parco Culturale Le Serre, Grugliasco, Italy |
| Years active | 2024–present |
| Founders |
|
| Organised by | Worldwide Phonecards Collectors Club |
| Website | www |
The event is held annually in Italy during the month of April.[1] It brings together collectors, exhibitors, associations and enthusiasts from several countries.
The event is organized by the Worldwide Phonecards Collectors Club, a non-profit cultural association dedicated to preserving the history of public telephony and promoting telephone card collecting.[2]
Over the years, PIM has become one of the few international events still dedicated exclusively to telephone card collecting.
The event has hosted historical exhibitions, meetings between collectors, displays related to public telephony, and cultural initiatives connected with the history of telecommunications.
History
PIM originated as a continuation of the former S.I.T. (Salon International de la Télécarte), an event dedicated to telephone card collecting that was held from 1996 to 2020 in Houilles, near Paris, France.
In the early 1990s Claude Mercadier founded the Télécart'Houilles section within the philatelic association of Houilles, dedicated to telephone card collecting. In 1996 the first edition of the S.I.T. was organized, with the participation of ten foreign exhibitors.[3]
As international interest in telephone card collecting increased, the event became an annual gathering and gradually developed into one of the main European meetings dedicated to this collecting field.
From 1997 to 2015 each edition of the S.I.T. was accompanied by the release of a commemorative telephone card dedicated to the event.[4]
During the 2000s the exhibition progressively expanded its collecting areas to include other types of plastic cards, including gift cards, parking cards and loyalty cards.[5]
In 2015, during the twentieth edition of the S.I.T., the event hosted 75 exhibitors from 34 different countries.[6]
From 2016 to 2020 the event also introduced coins and banknotes among the collectible materials exhibited during the S.I.T.[7]
The final edition of the S.I.T. took place in January 2020. In the following years the event was no longer organized due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the health conditions of the organizer.
In 2023 Davide Gambardella and Tiziano Matta founded the Phonecards International Meeting (PIM) with the aim of continuing the tradition of international meetings dedicated to telephone card collecting.
The first edition of PIM was held from 12 to 14 April 2024 at the Parco Esposizioni Novegro in Segrate, near Milan, with the participation of 80 exhibitors from 24 countries.[8]
The event also resumed the production of commemorative telephone cards connected with the exhibition.
In 2025 the event moved to the Le Serre Cultural Park in Grugliasco, within the Metropolitan City of Turin, an area historically connected with the Italian telecommunications industry and companies such as Urmet and SIP.[9]
The 2026 edition was dedicated to the fiftieth anniversary of the SIDA 0 telephone card, produced by SIDA of Montichiari in collaboration with SIP.
The 2026 edition included the participation of companies and institutions historically connected with public telephony and telecommunications, including Urmet, SIDA of Montichiari and the Public Telephony Museum of Alberi (Parma).[10]
Editions
| Year | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Parco Esposizioni Novegro, Segrate | First edition of PIM with 80 exhibitors from 24 countries. |
| 2025 | Parco Culturale Le Serre, Grugliasco | Event moved to the Turin metropolitan area. |
| 2026 | Parco Culturale Le Serre, Grugliasco | Edition dedicated to the fiftieth anniversary of the first public telephone card. |
Exhibitions and cultural initiatives
PIM has hosted exhibitions dedicated to the history of public telephony, telecommunications and technologies related to telephone card production.
The event has progressively expanded its cultural activities to include exhibitions dedicated to public telephones, payment systems, telephone booths and historical telecommunications devices.
The 2026 edition, organized during the fiftieth anniversary of the SIDA 0 telephone card, hosted exhibitions related to the origins of telephone cards and the development of Italian telecommunications.
Among the participants were Urmet, which organized an exhibition dedicated to its historical activity in telecommunications and public telephony, and SIDA of Montichiari, involved in the creation of the SIDA 0 telephone card together with SIP.
During the 2026 edition a commemorative folder containing an officially overprinted Urmet test card was produced in a limited edition of 500 numbered copies.
The Public Telephony Museum of Alberi (Parma) also participated in the event through exhibitions dedicated to historical public telephony devices.
Charity initiatives
During several editions of PIM, charity auctions involving collectible material and memorabilia connected with telecommunications and sports were organized.
During the 2026 edition, proceeds from the charity auction were donated to the Fondazione Piemontese per la Ricerca sul Cancro and the Candiolo Cancer Institute.[11]
International participation
PIM has hosted collectors, exhibitors and associations from several European and non-European countries.
Countries represented at the event have included Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Australia, China and South Africa.
The event has also been mentioned by regional tourism and cultural portals as an international collecting event dedicated to telephone cards.[12]
Sponsorships and collaborations
PIM has collaborated with public institutions, telecommunications companies, cultural associations and collecting organizations.
The 2026 edition was held with the patronage of the Municipality of Grugliasco, the Piedmont Region, the Metropolitan City of Turin and Turismo Torino e Provincia.[13]
Relevance in collecting
PIM is one of the few international events still dedicated exclusively to telephone card collecting.
The event contributes to maintaining connections between international collectors in a context marked by the decline of traditional public telephony and the reduction of specialized exhibitions dedicated to telephone cards.