The International Federation of Vexillological Associations (FIAV,

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acronym: ''Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques'') is an international federation 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. He then moved to organize various flag organisations and meetings including the first International Congress of Vexillology in 1965 and International Federation of Vexillological Associations. The FIAV was provisionally organized on 3 September 1967, at the Second International Congress of Vexillology held in Rüschlikon,

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, 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. The Board manages the current affairs of FIAV and convenes the biennial sessions of the General Assembly, which are held during each International Congress of Vexillology. 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.

Officers

The current members of the FIAV Board are: * (President) * Bruce Berry (Secretary–General) *

Graham Bartram The Flag Institute is a UK membership organisation headquartered in Kingston upon Hull, England, concerned with researching and promoting the use and design of flags. It documents flags in the UK and internationally, maintains a UK Flag Regis ...

(Secretary–General for Congresses)

Members

Current members of FIAV are:

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. Since 1969, FIAV has sponsored the biennial International Congresses of Vexillology (ICV) with assistance of a local organizing committee. The Congresses have been held in: * Muiderberg, Netherlands (1965) * Zürich and Rüschlikon (1967) * Boston (1969) * Turin (1971) * London (1973) *

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(1975) * Washington, D.C. (1977) * Vienna (1979) *

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

(1981) * Oxford (1983) * Madrid (1985) * San Francisco (1987) * Melbourne (1989) * Barcelona (1991) * Zürich (1993) * Warsaw (1995) * Cape Town (1997) * Victoria, British Columbia (1999) * York (2001) *

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

(2003) * Buenos Aires (2005) * Berlin (2007) * Yokohama (2009) * Alexandria, Virginia (2011) * Rotterdam (2013) *

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

(2015) * London (2017) * San Antonio (2019) * Ljubljana (2022) 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.

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. 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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:International Federation of Vexillological Associations Organizations established in 1967 Vexillological organizations Organizations based in Houston International organisations based in London