Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques
International Federation of Vexillological Associations
Office of the President
Dear Chairman Zhao and members of the Vexillological Research Center of China,
dear members of the VRCC flag suppliers professional committee
and attendants of the first China flag supplies seminar, vexillologist and guests,
It is my great honor to greet you personally and in the name of world vexillological community assembled in the International Federation of Vexillological Associations known by its French acronym FIAV. The Federation has the origins half a century ago when the forefathers of vexillological science meet in a small town in the Netherlands in 1965 at the First International Congress of Vexillology. Two years afterwards the Federation was organized on the Second Congress in Zürich, Switzerland, and the organization was formally established at the Third Congress in Boston in 1967. Twelve associations and institutionsfrom Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and United States were the charter members of FIAV. The vexillological community grew over the years and the FIAV was joined by total of 74 organizations from all over the world, the last one being VRCC two years ago. Of course, in the period of almost 60 years some organizations ceased to exists, other have merged and changed their forms, so the FIAV now counts 51 regional, national, and multinational vexillological associations and institutions across the globe.
Since its formation FIAV sponsored biennial international congresses of vexillology, a total of 28 of them held in all continents of the globe except Antarctica. The 29th Congress was planned for this year, but it was postponed for the next one due to the pandemic, and it shall be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2022. We are particularly proud of our youngest member, VRCC, who expressed the wish to organize the 30th Congress in Beijing two years afterwards. It shall be the first time that vexillologists from all over the world shall gather on the mainland Asia, and we are sure that it shall be a boost for vexillological research not only in China, but in other countries in the region, where there is an ancient and flag-rich history and there is so much to show us and teach us.
FIAV unites those member associations and institutions throughout the world whose object is the pursuit of vexillology, which is 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. FIAV’s purposes are: to create a strong bond among those associations and institutions and to encourage and coordinate their work, studies, and research; to promote the organization of International Congresses of Vexillology and to lend its support to their organizers; to encourage the creation in all countries of associations and institutions dedicated to vexillology; and to recognize international standards facilitating the development of these activities.
The FIAV members consist of various types of organizations who choose to pursue vexillological research in their own way and how they find fit in their societies. Some are more oriented toward purely academic and theoretical work researching flags and their role in society, other are actively involved in flag development and design is societies where they act, while third are pursuing flag practices and promoting use of flags, or most often they do combinations of all of these and other aspects of vexillology and related disciplines.
From the very beginning the flag manufacturers formed a special interest group within FIAV and held their professional meetings within scope of the international congresses. While the manufacturers have particular interest regarding the flags, namely they sell them and make their living from it, there are more than enough common interest between vexillologists and manufacturers to interact constructively, sharing information in both ways.
In the modern world in the last decades the number of flag manufacturers has steadily decreased in some countries, while production of flags and flag related accessories in China grew rapidly for global consumption. Thus, it is even more important that vexillologists in VRCC, and through it the global vexillological community, open a communication channel towards the flag manufacturers in China. Therefore we can only greet the initiative VRCC has made in gathering flag manufacturers to such a seminar. Personally, I am confident that it should be beneficial to all involved and to vexillology as a discipline.
I wish you a successful meeting and I’m looking forward to see some of you personally in Ljubljana next year, and certainly I’m looking forward to see you in Beijing in 2024.
Keep studying those flags!
Lieutenant Colonel
Dr. Željko Heimer, LF, FF
President of FIAV
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