The International Federation of Vexillological Associations (; FIAV) 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, 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 (President)() Bruce Berry (Secretary–General)() Graham Bartram (Secretary–General for Congresses)( )

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.NameCountry (& Territory)Date of AdmissionAAV Argentina Vexillology AssociationAugust 23, 1993ACV ()May 28, 1985BDA Burgee Data ArchivesAugust 14, 1997BHVS August 6, 2013BS Bandiere Storiche ONLUSAugust 6, 2013CBFA Chesapeake Bay Flag Association (, , , , , , )July 3, 1995CEBED Belgo-European Studies Center for FlagsAugust 23, 1993CFA The Canadian Flag AssociationAugust 23, 1993CIDEC Foundation Interdisciplinary Center for Cultural StudiesAugust 23, 1993CISV Italian Centre of Vexillological StudiesSeptember 14, 1973CONAVEX July 16, 2019CVS August 23, 1993DGF August 12, 1997FHF Flag Heritage FoundationJuly 28, 2003FI The Flag InstituteJune 24, 1971FOTW Flags of the WorldWorldwide (Based in )July 23, 2001FRC September 7, 1969FSA Flag Society of AustraliaMay 28, 1985GHVIInstitute of Genealogy, Heraldry and VexillologyJuly 12, 2022GSI Genealogical Society of IrelandMay 28, 1985GWAV Great Waters Association of Vexillology (, , , , )July 29, 1999HGZDCroatian Heraldic and Vexillological AssociationAugust 7, 2007HS Heraldica SlovenicaAugust 23, 1993HVK August 23, 1993IHW July 23, 2001IVA Indian Vexillological AssociationAugust 7, 2007JAVA Japanese Vexillological AssociationJuly 23, 2001KVV ()August 12, 1997NAVA North American Vexillological AssociationNorth America ( & )September 7, 1969NEVA New England Vexillological Association (, , , , , )July 29, 1999NF Nordic Flag Society Nordic Europe (, , , , )September 14, 1973NVvV September 7, 1969NZFA New Zealand Flag AssociationJuly 3, 1995MGD Macedonian Heraldic SocietyJuly 16, 2019PFA Portland Flag Association ()August 6, 2013PTW July 3, 1995RCVH Russian Centre of Vexillology and HeraldryJuly 28, 2003SAVA Southern African Vexillological Association Southern Africa (, , , , , , , , , , )July 2, 1991SCHG State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of GeorgiaAugust 2, 2011SEV Spanish Society of VexillologyJune 29, 1979SFV French Society of VexillologyJuly 1, 1991SGHAPG Society of Genealogy, Heraldry and Archivist "Paul Gore"July 23, 2001SSV Swiss Society for VexillologySeptember 7, 1969SVB Belgium Vexillology SocietyJune 29, 1979SVI Flag Data CenterJuly 28, 2003SVPR August 2, 2011THVA Transylvanian Heraldic and Vexillological Association ()July 12, 2022UHT Ukrainian Heraldry SocietyJuly 3, 1995VAST Vexillological Association of the State of Texas ()July 23, 2001VSS Vexillological Society (Singapore)July 12, 2022WVRI World Vexillological Research InstituteAugust 23, 1993

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) IJsselmeer (1975) Washington, D.C. (1977) Vienna (1979) Ottawa (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 (2003) Buenos Aires (2005) Berlin (2007) Yokohama (2009) Washington, D.C. (2011) Rotterdam (2013) Sydney (2015) London (2017) San Antonio (2019) Ljubljana (2022) Beijing (2024)

ICV 31 is ongoing in Paris, France in July 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 (LF) or a chest (FF) 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 (IAFM) at least since 1999, known as the IAFM Award.

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