International Federation of Vexillological Associations

International Federation of
Vexillological Associations
Formation7 September 1969; 55 years ago (1969-09-07)
TypeInternational association
HeadquartersHouston, Texas, U.S.
London, England, UK[1]
Membership
51 associations and institutions[2]
Official languages
English, French, German, Spanish[1]
Željko Heimer[3]
Websitefiav.org Edit this at Wikidata
Michel R. Lupant, former president of FIAV.

The International Federation of Vexillological Associations (French: Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques; FIAV) is an international federation[4] of 53 regional, national, and multinational associations and institutions across the globe that study vexillology, which FIAV defines in its constitution as "the creation and development of a body of knowledge about flags of all types, their forms and functions, and of scientific theories and principles based on that knowledge."[5]

History

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The study of flags, or vexillology, was formalised by Whitney Smith in 1957.[6] He then moved to organize various flag organisations and meetings including the first International Congress of Vexillology[6] in 1965[7] and International Federation of Vexillological Associations.[6]

The FIAV was provisionally organized on 3 September 1967, at the Second International Congress of Vexillology held in Rüschlikon, Switzerland, and officially created on 7 September 1969, at the Third International Congress of Vexillology held in Boston, Massachusetts, US. The vexillological symbols were created by vexillologist Whitney Smith and then adopted by the FIAV in the early 1970s.[8]

Governance

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FIAV has a three-person Board consisting of a President, Secretary-General, and Secretary-General for Congresses.[1] The Board manages the current affairs of FIAV and convenes the biennial sessions of the General Assembly,[1] which are held during each International Congress of Vexillology.[9] The FIAV General Assembly is composed of a delegate from each of FIAV's members. The General Assembly elects the Board and is responsible for setting policy.[1]

Officers

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The current members of the FIAV Board are:

  • Željko Heimer (President)
  • Bruce Berry (Secretary–General)
  • Graham Bartram (Secretary–General for Congresses)[3]

Past officers

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Office of FIAV President was previously held by:

Members

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The current members of FIAV are:[2]

Abrv. Name Country (& Territory) Date of Admission
AAV Argentina Vexillology Association  Argentina August 23, 1993
ACV Catalonian Vexillological Association [ca]  Spain ( Catalonia) May 28, 1985
BDA Burgee Data Archives  Canada August 14, 1997
BHVS Bulgarian Heraldry and Vexillology Society [bg]  Bulgaria August 6, 2013
BS Bandiere Storiche ONLUS  Italy August 6, 2013
CBFA Chesapeake Bay Flag Association  United States ( Delaware,  Washington DC,  Maryland,  New Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  West Virginia) July 3, 1995
CEBED Belgo-European Studies Center for Flags  Belgium August 23, 1993
CFA The Canadian Flag Association  Canada August 23, 1993
CIDEC Foundation Interdisciplinary Center for Cultural Studies  Argentina August 23, 1993
CISV Italian Centre of Vexillological Studies  Italy September 14, 1973
CONAVEX Corporación Nacional de Vexilología de Chile [es]  Chile July 16, 2019
CVS Czech Vexillological Society [cs]  Czech Republic August 23, 1993
DGF German Vexillological Association [de]  Germany August 12, 1997
FHF Flag Heritage Foundation  United States July 28, 2003
FI The Flag Institute  United Kingdom June 24, 1971
FOTW Flags of the World Worldwide (Based in  Canada) July 23, 2001
FRC The Flag Research Center [es]  United States September 7, 1969
FSA Flag Society of Australia  Australia May 28, 1985
GHVI Institute of Genealogy, Heraldry and Vexillology  Lithuania July 12, 2022
GSI Genealogical Society of Ireland  Ireland May 28, 1985
GWAV Great Waters Association of Vexillology[a]  United States ( Illinois,  Indiana,  Kentucky,  Michigan,  Ohio) July 29, 1999
HGZD Croatian Heraldic and Vexillological Association  Croatia August 7, 2007
HS Heraldica Slovenica  Slovenia August 23, 1993
HVK Heraldic Society "The Clover Leaf" [de]  Germany August 23, 1993
IHW Institute of Heraldry and Vexillology [pl]  Poland July 23, 2001
IVA Indian Vexillological Association  India August 7, 2007
JAVA Japanese Vexillological Association  Japan July 23, 2001
KVV Breton Vexillology Society [fr]  France ( Brittany) August 12, 1997
NAVA North American Vexillological Association North America ( United States &  Canada) September 7, 1969
NEVA New England Vexillological Association  United States ( Connecticut,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  New Hampshire,  Rhode Island,  Vermont) July 29, 1999
NF Nordic Flag Society Nordic Europe ( Denmark,  Finland,  Iceland,  Norway,  Sweden) September 14, 1973
NVvV Dutch Association for Vexillology [nl]  Netherlands September 7, 1969
NZFA New Zealand Flag Association  New Zealand July 3, 1995
MGD Macedonian Heraldic Society  North Macedonia July 16, 2019
PFA Portland Flag Association  United States ( Oregon) August 6, 2013
PTW Polish Vexillology Society [ru]  Poland July 3, 1995
RCVH Russian Centre of Vexillology and Heraldry  Russia July 28, 2003
SAVA Southern African Vexillological Association Southern African Development Community Southern Africa ( Angola,  Botswana,  Lesotho,  Madagascar,  Malawi,  Mozambique,  Namibia,  South Africa,  Eswatini,  Zambia,  Zimbabwe) July 2, 1991
SCHG State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia  Georgia August 2, 2011
SEV Spanish Society of Vexillology  Spain June 29, 1979
SFV French Society of Vexillology  France July 1, 1991
SGHAPG Society of Genealogy, Heraldry and Archivist "Paul Gore"  Moldova July 23, 2001
SSV Swiss Society for Vexillology   Switzerland September 7, 1969
SVB Belgium Vexillology Society  Belgium June 29, 1979
SVI Flag Data Center  Czech Republic July 28, 2003
SVPR Rotterdam Flag Parade Foundation [nl]  Netherlands August 2, 2011
THVA Transylvanian Heraldic and Vexillological Association  Romania ( Transylvania) July 12, 2022
UHT Ukrainian Heraldry Society  Ukraine July 3, 1995
VAST Vexillological Association of the State of Texas  United States ( Texas) July 23, 2001
VRCC Vexillological Research Center of China  China July 16, 2019
VSS Vexillological Society (Singapore)  Singapore July 12, 2022
WVRI World Vexillological Research Institute  Germany August 23, 1993

International Congresses of Vexillology

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Argentinian flags and flags of FIAV members during the 21st International Congresses of Vexillology in Buenos Aires

The International Congress of Vexillology is a week long biennial conference. A Congress consists of vexillology presentations, FIAV's General Assembly and flag display tours.[9]

Since 1969, FIAV has sponsored the biennial International Congresses of Vexillology (ICV) with assistance of a local organizing committee.[10] The Congresses have been held in:

ICV 31 is planned to be held in Paris, France in 2026.[14]

FIAV flag

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The FIAV flag was initially designed by Klaes Sierksma and slightly modified by the organizing committee of the Second International Congress of Vexillology. The flag was introduced on 3 September 1967. Its description is, "On a blue field, extending horizontally from hoist to fly, two yellow halyards forming two interlaced loops." The knot formed is a sheet bend. The color blue is defined as Pantone Matching System U293 and the color yellow is defined as Pantone Matching System U123. Flags for the three officers were approved in 1999, having been designed by the former FIAV president, William Crampton.[15]

FIAV honours and medals

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Many awards and medals are given out to members of the FIAV or members of an FIAV associated Organization for various reasons.[16] The two medals that come with post-nominals are the LAUREATES OF THE FEDERATION who get LF and the FELLOWS OF THE FEDERATION who get FF.

In 1989, FIAV established The Vexilon, an award given for the most important contribution to vexillology in the two years before an International Congress of Vexillology. As of 2024, 17 awards have been given out to notable vexillologists such as William Crampton, Whitney Smith, and Alfred Znamierowski.[17] Frederick Brownell, who designed the South African flag,[18] received the award twice.[17]

Notes

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  1. ^ Defunct since April 4, 2013

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "FIAV Constitution". FIAV. 2009-09-11. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "FIAV Membership List". FIAV. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "FIAV Officers". FIAV. 2009-09-11. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  4. ^ "About vexillology". Vexillology. The Flag Institute. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  5. ^ "FIAV home page". Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Vulliamy, Elsa (December 15, 2015). "Which flag is it? Take our quiz to find out". The Independent. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  7. ^ "Consider Vexillology". SemiotiX. Semioticon. May 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  8. ^ "FIAV Flag Information Symbols". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  9. ^ a b Koziol, Michael (September 1, 2015). "World experts fly the flag in Sydney". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  10. ^ Mercer, Phil (14 July 2015). "What do our flags say about us?". www.bbc.com. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  11. ^ "ICV27 - London 2017". 27th International Congress of Vexillology. Flag Institute. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  12. ^ Biediger, Shari (July 4, 2019). "Dixie Flag Stitches Banners with Pride and Patriotism". Rivard Report. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  13. ^ "ICV29 - Ljubljana 2022". 29th International Congress of Vexillology. Heraldica Slovenica. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  14. ^ "International Congresses of Vexillology". FIAV. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "FIAV - Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques". Flags of the World. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
  16. ^ "Awards and Honors". North American Vexillological Association. Archived from the original on Aug 17, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "The Vexillon". International Federation of Vexillological Associations. July 14, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  18. ^ "Fred Brownell: The man who made South Africa's flag". BBC News. 26 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-04-27. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
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