International Federation of Vexillological Associations

International Federation of Vexillological Associations; IFoVA 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."

WWW fiav.org

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, 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.

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:

Željko Heimer
Bruce Berry
Graham Bartram

Past officers

Office of FIAV President was previously held by:

Louis Mühlemann, 1969 to 1973
Ottfried Neubecker, 1973 to 1981
Hugh Boudin, 1981 to 1993
William G. Crampton, 1993 to 1997
Michel R. Lupant, 1997 to 2019

Louis Mühlemann was also the honorary president from 1973 to 1988.

Members

The current members of FIAV are:

Abrv.

Name

Country

Date of Admission

AAV

Argentina Vexillology Association

Argentinaill|Catalonian Vexillological Association|ca|Associació Catalana de Vexil·lologia

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 with assistance of a local organizing committee. The Congresses have been held in:

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

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

Over the years, FIAV has established awards and honors to recognize individuals and organizations for vexillological work and service.
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. These two awards consists of a certificate and a medal bearing the central knot device of the FIAV flag suspended from a neck or a chest ribbon of blue and yellow, the colors of the FIAV flag, a lapel pin and a ribbon bar.
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. Frederick Brownell, who designed the South African flag, received the award twice.
The Whitney Smith Award recognizes the best paper delivered during an International Congress of Vexillology. It was established in 2005 as the Best Paper award and renamed in 2017 honoring Whitney Smith. Even before the current award was formalized, a recognition of the “best paper” was bestowed sponsored by the International Association of Flag Manufacturers at least since 1999, known as the IAFM Award.