World Vexillology Day welcomes the support of the Burgee Data Archives (BDA), a longstanding FIAV member organization based in Canada. (A burgee is a flag, usually a triangular pennant, used to show membership in a yacht club or similar organization.)
Flag study organizations from North America, Europe, and Oceania are sponsoring World Vexillology Day, and today we add Africa to this growing list. We welcome the endorsement and participation of the Southern African Vexillological Association (SAVA)!
A member organization of FIAV, SAVA covers the Southern African countries of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
We are happy to announce that the New Zealand Flag Association (NZFA) is supporting World Vexillology Day. They are the first FIAV member in Oceania, indeed in the Southern Hemisphere, to announce their support.
For information about the New Zealand Flag Association, please email John Moody at johnmoody431@hotmail.com.
Tēnā koutou, NFZA!
The FIAV member in the northeastern United States, the New England Vexillological Association (NEVA), has endorsed World Vexillology Day. They sent the following announcement to their membership:
Vexiday – Coming to a Calendar Near You!
As a vexillologist, you know about Flag Day. On 14 June, the day when the US flag was adopted, we celebrate its adoption with various patriotic observances; some locations more than others.
But as a vexillologist, you are doubtlessly aware of many, many other flags, and each has its own rich history. There soon may be an occasion to publicly celebrate these other flags, and help educate the general public about vexillology, the study of flags – especially young people, who may have an interest in flags, but as far as they know; no one else does.
Scott Mainwaring of the Portland (OR) Flag Association, is spearheading a drive to designate 1 October “World Vexillology Day”, a day to celebrate flags, flag design, and flag studies. The organizers have selected 1 October, because it’s commonly recognized as the birthday of modern vexillology, being the date of the first issue of The Flag Bulletin (the first flag studies journal) in 1961, by Gerhard Grahl and Whitney Smith.
This will be an annual event to raise public awareness and introduce people, (again, especially young people), to opportunities available to become more active in pursuing their interest in flags.
The organizers have started a website, www.vexiday.org, to educate the public and to advertise events that flag associations around the world may wish to organize (some suggestions are on the website). They have also have set up accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.
We at NEVA support this initiative. We may be able to organize some sort of Vexiday event, locally or online, in time for 1 October 2016, and if so, will take steps to publicize it. At some point the organizers hope to have the large flag associations, like FIAV, NAVA, and the Flag Institute, formally endorse Vexiday.
Please let us know at NEVA what you think of this, and your feedback on the idea in general is very welcome at the Vexiday website.
For more information about NEVA, contact Carl Gurtman at cgurtman@maine.rr.com or visit their website (under construction) at nejv.org.
The Milan-based flag group, and FIAV member, Bandiere Storiche (“Historical Flags”) announced today its support for World Vexillology Day and and that it will be organizing an event for 1 October 2016.
World Vexillology Day 