The Flag Institute holds two conferences each year – and one of them is free.
- Our Spring Conference travels the UK each May – to Leicester in 2027, and most recently Bristol, York and London.
- Our Winter Conference and AGM runs online each November and costs nothing to attend.
Upcoming events
Flag Institute Winter ’26 Conference & AGM
*FREE & ONLINE* Saturday 14 November: BOOK HERE
- Double take: How similar flags confuse viewers and blur national identity, with Carlos A. Morales-Ramirez
National flags embody deep historical identities, yet closely matching designs often create modern cognitive confusion. Focusing on the flags of Cuba and Puerto Rico, this study examines how everyday observers navigate visually similar national symbols. Using survey data from non-expert university students, the research investigates recognition accuracy, reliance on guesswork, and how viewers interpret shared geometry. Findings reveal that while intentional design mimicry successfully signals a shared 19th-century anti-colonial heritage, extreme visual similarity creates cognitive barriers that blur national sovereignty. This work highlights the delicate balance between historical unity and contemporary visual distinctiveness.
- Roundels: The visual grammar of the OTHER flags in the sky, with Michael Green
Modern vexillology was born of a design problem: the need to find a means of identifying ships at distance. When aircraft emerged in the First World War, bringing additional factors of speed and orientation, this posed an even more complex design challenge. How could nations adapt their markings to make them recognisable from any angle on a chaotic aerial battlefield? This presentation documents the visual language produced by that process and demonstrates how this vexillological grammar continues to evolve across military and civilian contexts today.
- The House of Flags Museum in America: Our journey to preserve history, with Robert Williamson
The history of the USA is frequently rewritten, ignored and/or misunderstood in today’s news media and educational institutions. The House of Flags Museum in Columbus, North Carolina was founded to help fill that void by using the nation’s flags to teach flag history and respect. With nearly 300 faithful replicas on display, US history comes alive as we explore why and how certain flags were created. Some sixty of these, from earliest colonial times through the American War for Independence, recount the ‘Birth of a Nation’. This session will explore the museum’s 25-year journey from 2001 to 2026.
Speakers
- Dr Carlos A. Morales-Ramirez is an Assistant Professor of Geography at West Chester University, Pennsylvania, co-editor of Middle States Geographer, and presenter of papers at ICV27 (London, 2017) and ICV31 (Paris, 2026).
- Michael Green is the founder and CEO of Flags for Good, Technical Editor of The Complete Guide to Flags of the World, 4th edition, and a two-time TEDx speaker.
- Robert Williamson is Curator of the House of Flags Museum.
Flag Institute Spring ’27 Conference
- Saturday & Sunday 15/16 May – Leicester, more details to follow
