NAVA 53 / ICV 28

HemisFlag, the 28th International Congress of Vexillology, was organized by the Vexillological Association of the State of Texas and The Flag Research Center.   It marked the 50th anniversary of the admission of charter members to FIAV (the Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques), the 26th session of its General Assembly, and also hosted NAVA's 53rd annual meeting.

The NAVA 53 / ICV 28 Flag:

The official flag of HemisFlag and NAVA 53.  The 28th International Congress of Vexillology reflects the vibrancy of modern vexillology as expressed in the Congress theme, "Flags at the Confluence of Civilizations in the Americas".

The flag is a heraldic flag, blazoned Or three bars wavy Azure on a chief nowy gabled Valero Gules four seven-pointed stars Or.  The colors gold and red evoke the Spanish flag of the first European settlers to Texas; blue and gold are the colors of the Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques, under whose auspices the International Congresses of Vexillology are organized.  The line of division separating the chief from the field is a new line of division which provides the familiar silhouette of the Alamo (Misíon San Antonio de Valero), the most popular and familiar structure in the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site.  The Alamo has served as an educational institution, military base, and mercantile company and is the representative icon of the City of San Antonio, appearing on its city flag.  The blue wavy bars represent the city’s Paseo de Rio, or River Walk, a revered cypress tree-lined connector of San Antonio and visitors from across the Americas and around the world.  They also represent the waters over which immigrants from every continent have traveled to make San Antonio their home.  On the gold field, the bars evoke the FIAV ribbon used in the decorations of Laureates and Fellows.  Long known for “big and bright” stars viewed in its sky, the stars reflect that Texas is a leader in the “dark sky” movement to address light pollution and preserve the natural beauty of its night sky.  With a total of 28 points, the stars also represent the 28th International Congress of Vexillology.  Finally, the “valleys” formed by the points of the stars evoke the letter “V” for vexillology.  The proportions are 2:3.  The flag was designed by Hugh L. Brady.

The Featured Tours:

As part of the Congress, delegates, and guests visited the Whitney Smith Flag Research Center Collection at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin.

Other tours included a visit to the Dixie Flag Manufacturing facilities, the Texas House of Representatives, and a tour of the city of San Antonio including the historic Alamo (Misión San Antonio de Valero), and the popular River Walk (Paseo de Rio).

ICV28/NAV53 Presentations:

• Flying High: The Zimbabwe Bird on the Flags of Zimbabwe — Bruce B. Berry, Johannesburg, South Africa
• Sketching the Contours of Education in the Auxiliary Sciences of History: A Modest Proposal for a Certificate Program in Vexillology — Hugh L. Brady, Texas, USA
• Red Flagging: An Excursion into Figurative Vexillology — John Cartledge, London, England
• Iconografía Jacobea: the Reach of Santiago, Spain’s Patron Saint, in Municipal Heraldry and Vexillology — Hipólito Rafael Chacón, Montana, USA
• Neḥushtan in America: Why the Gadsden Flag is Yellow — Bard C. Cosman, California, USA
• Introduction to Flags and Sashes — Francisco Gregoric [delivered by Gustavo Tracchia], Buenos Aires, Argentina
• A Plenitude of Opportunities: An Exhortation for Contemporary Cultural Vexillology — Scot M. Guenter [by video], California, USA
• Bicentenary of the Album des pavillons — Pierre-Jean Guionin, France
• The Blue Eagle Has Landed — Kevin A. Harrington, Toronto, Canada
• A New Look at Flag Design — John M. Hartvigsen, Utah, USA
• The Confluence of the River: Two Centuries of Flag Controversies in Rijeka/Fiume — Željko Heimer, Croatia
• The Future of the Vexillological Body of Knowledge: Ideas for a Central Repository and Digitalization, Part 1: Panel Presentation / Part 2: Group Discussion — Željko Heimer, Annie Platoff, and Steve Knowlton
• Discovery of Two German Believed-to-be-lost Flag-related Books — Andreas Herzfeld, Germany
• Flags of the Slovenian Armed Forces — Aleksander Hribovšek, Slovenia
• Symbols of Mount Athos — Michel R. Lupant, Ottignies, Belgium
• Japanese Heraldry: Their Use on Municipality Flags and Their Future Prospects — Nozomi Kariyasu, Japan
• County Flags of Liberia: Exemplar of Design Genre as Policy Symbolism — Steven A. Knowlton, New Jersey, U.S.A.
• National Identity: Through the Vexillological Lens — Tracey Mee, Wollongong, Australia
• Philadelphia, First City of Flags — James G. Mundy, Jr., Philadelphia, USA
• King Billy, the Boyne and the Red Hand Forever! Two Historic Irish Unionist Flags — Rachel Phelan, Dublin, Ireland
• Banal Nationalism in the U.S.S.R.: State Symbols in the Daily Lives of Soviet Citizens — Anne M. Platoff, California, USA
• Vexillological Developments in Thailand since 2017 — Pluethipol Prachumphol, Jantakarn Kloaisai, and Khor Poh Kiang, Bangkok, Thailand
• French Legionnaire Flags and Symbols — Alain Raullet, Brittany, France
• Gone to Texas: The Journey of the Flag Research Center to the Briscoe Center — Charles A. Spain, Texas, USA
• Last Flag Down: The Final Lowering of the South Vietnamese Flag — Dean C. Thomas, Arkansas, USA
• Recognising Flags by their Mean Colour — Mike Thomas, Luxembourg
• Standards and Variables with Color in Flag Manufacturing — Pete Van de Putte, Texas, USA
• The Banners Ceremony in the Mountainous Areas of Beijing Dated from the Ming Dynasty — Zhao Xinfeng, Beijing, China

NAVA Members Recognized at ICV 28 / NAVA 53:

• Captain William Driver Award, for best paper given by a NAVA member: Bard C. Cosman; honorable mention: Dean Thomas.
• Whitney Smith Award, for best paper at the ICV: Hipólito Rafael Chacón.
• Named Fellows of FIAV: John Hartvigsen, Charles Spain, Pete Van de Putte, and Vanessa Van de Putte.
• Named Fellows of VAST: John Hartvigsen, Annie Platoff, Pete Van de Putte, and Vanessa Van de Putte.

Driver Award Sponsors:
Bear Flag Museum, CRW Flags, Dixie Flag & Banner, The Flag Guys, Herold Flags, Portland Flag Association, smALLFLAGs.com

The Annual Business Meeting:

The 2019 NAVA Board presided over NAVA's annual business meeting during the 28th International Congress of Vexillology.

Attendees: (91)

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