International Federation of
Vexillological Associations
Formation7 September 1969; 53 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 [sh][3]
WebsiteFIAV.org
Michel R. Lupant, former president of FIAV
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."

History

The study of flags, or vexillology, was formalised by Whitney Smith in 1957.[5] He then moved to organize various flag organisations and meetings including the first International Congress of Vexillology[5] in 1965[6] and International Federation of Vexillological Associations.[5]

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.

Governance

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.[7] 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

The current members of the FIAV Board are:

Members

Current members of FIAV are:[2]

Abrv. Name Country (& Territory)
AAV
Bandera de AAV.svg
Argentina Vexillology Association 		 Argentina
ACV
Bandera ACV.svg
Catalonian Vexillological Association [ca] 		 Spain ( Catalonia)
BDA
Flag of BDA.SVG
Burgee Data Archives 		 Canada
BHVS
Flag of BHVS.svg
Bulgarian Heraldry and Vexillology Society [bg] 		 Bulgaria
BS
Flag of BS ONLUS.svg
Bandiere Storiche ONLUS 		 Italy
CBFA
Flag of CBFA.svg
Chesapeake Bay Flag Association 		 USA ( Delaware,  Washington DC,  Maryland,  New Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  West Virginia)
CEBED
Flag of CEBED.svg
Belgo-European Studies Center for Flags 		 Belgium
CFA
Flag of CFA.svg
The Canadian Flag Association 		 Canada
CIDEC
Flag of CIDEC.svg
Foundation Interdisciplinary Center for Cultural Studies 		 Argentina
CISV
Flag of CISV.svg
Italian Centre of Vexillological Studies 		 Italy
CONAVEX
Bandera de la Corporación Nacional de Vexilología de Chile.svg
Corporación Nacional de Vexilología de Chile [es] 		 Chile
CVS
Flag of CVS.svg
Czech Vexillological Society [cs] 		 Czech Republic
DGF
Flag of DGF.svg
German Vexillological Association 		 Germany
FHF
Flag of FHF.svg
Flag Heritage Foundation 		 USA
FI
Flag of the FI.svg
The Flag Institute 		 UK
FOTW
Flag of FOTW.svg
Flags of the World 		Worldwide (Based in  Canada)
FRC
Flag of FRC.svg
The Flag Research Center [es] 		 USA
FSA
Flag of FSA.svg
Flag Society of Australia 		 Australia
GHVI Institute of Genealogy, Heraldry and Vexillology  Lithuania
GSI
Vexillology Ireland Flag.svg
Genealogical Society of Ireland 		 Ireland
GWAV
Flag of GWAV.svg
Great Waters Association of Vexillology 		 USA ( Illinois,  Indiana,  Kentucky,  Michigan,  Ohio)
HGZD Croatian Heraldic and Vexillological Association  Croatia
HS Heraldica Slovenica  Slovenia
HVK Heraldic Society "The Clover Leaf" [de]  Germany
IHW
Flag of IHW.svg
Institute of Heraldry and Vexillology [pl] 		 Poland
IVA
Flag of IVA.svg
Indian Vexillological Association 		 India
JAVA
Flag of JAVA.svg
Japanese Vexillological Association 		 Japan
KVV
Breton Vexillological Society Flag.svg
Breton Vexillology Society [fr] 		 France ( Brittany)
NAVA
Flag of NAVA.svg
North American Vexillological Association 		North America ( USA &  Canada)
NEVA
Flag of NEVA.svg
New England Vexillological Association 		 USA ( Connecticut,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  New Hampshire,  Rhode Island,  Vermont)
NF
Flag of Nordisk Flaggsallskap.svg
Nordic Flag Society 		Nordic Europe ( Denmark,  Finland,  Iceland,  Norway,  Sweden)
NVvV
Flag of NVvV.svg
Dutch Association for Vexillology [nl] 		 Netherlands
NZFA
Flag of NZFA.svg
New Zealand Flag Association 		 New Zealand
MGD
MHS banner.png
Macedonian Heraldic Society 		 North Macedonia
PFA
Flag of PFA.svg
Portland Flag Association 		 USA ( Oregon)
PH
Flag of PH.svg
Partioheraldikot r.y. 		 Finland
PTW
Flag of PTW.svg
Polish Vexillology Society [ru] 		 Poland
RCVH
Flag of RCVH.svg
Russian Centre of Vexillology and Heraldry 		 Russia
SAVA
Flag of SAVA.svg
Southern African Vexillological Association 		Southern African Development Community Southern Africa ( Angola,  Botswana,  Lesotho,  Madagascar,  Malawi,  Mozambique,  Namibia,  South Africa,  Eswatini,  Zambia,  Zimbabwe)
SCHG
Flag of SCHG.svg
State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia 		 Georgia
SEV
Flag of SEV.svg
Spanish Society of Vexillology 		 Spain
SFV
Flag of SFV.svg
French Society of Vexillology 		 France
SGHAPG
Flag of SGHAPG.svg
Society of Genealogy, Heraldry and Archivist "Paul Gore" 		 Moldova
SSV
Drapeau de la Société suisse de vexillologie.svg
Swiss Society for Vexillology 		 Switzerland
SVB
Flag of SVB.svg
Belgium Vexillology Society 		 Belgium
SVI
Flag of SVI.svg
Flag Data Center 		 Czech Republic
SVPR
Flag of SVPR (No Lettering).svg
Rotterdam Flag Parade Foundation [nl] 		 Netherlands
THVA Transylvanian Heraldic and Vexillological Association  Romania ( Transylvania)
UHT
Flag of UHT.svg
Ukrainian Heraldry Society 		 Ukraine
VAST
Flag of VAST.svg
Vexillological Association of the State of Texas 		 USA ( Texas)
VRCC
Flag of VRCC.svg
Vexillological Research Center of China 		 China
VSS Vexillological Society (Singapore)  Singapore
WVRI
Flag of WVRI.svg
World Vexillological Research Institute 		 Germany

International Congresses of Vexillology

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.[7]

Since 1969, FIAV has sponsored the biennial International Congresses of Vexillology (ICV) with assistance of a local organizing committee.[8] The Congresses have been held in:

ICV 30 is planned to be held in Beijing (China) in 2024.

FIAV flag

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.[12]

FIAV Honours and Medals

Many awards and medals are given out to members of the FIAV or members of an FIAV associated Organization for various reasons.[13] 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.

References

  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. ^ a b c Vulliamy, Elsa (December 15, 2015). "Which flag is it? Take our quiz to find out". The Independent. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  6. ^ "Consider Vexillology". SemiotiX. Semioticon. May 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Koziol, Michael (September 1, 2015). "World experts fly the flag in Sydney". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  8. ^ Mercer, Phil (14 July 2015). "What do our flags say about us?". www.bbc.com. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  9. ^ "ICV27 - London 2017". 27th International Congress of Vexillology. Flag Institute. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  10. ^ Biediger, Shari (July 4, 2019). "Dixie Flag Stitches Banners with Pride and Patriotism". Rivard Report. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  11. ^ "ICV29 - Ljubljana 2022". 29th International Congress of Vexillology. Heraldica Slovenica. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  12. ^ "FIAV - Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques". Flags of the World. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
  13. ^ "Home - North American Vexillological Association".

External links

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