Bringing together flag experts and enthusiasts worldwide, Flag Institute Spring and Winter Conferences are always a highlight of our year. Everyone welcome, a friendly atmosphere, and a great time talking flags past, present and future.
Upcoming events
SAVE THE DATES! MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW.
Flag Institute AGM & Winter ’26 Conference
- Saturday 14 November, 10.00 to 17.00 GMT – FREE & ONLINE
Flag Institute Spring ’27 Conference
- Saturday & Sunday 15/16 May – location to be confirmed
Past events
FI Spring ’26 Conference
Saturday & Sunday 30/31 May 2026, Bristol (sponsored by Flagmakers)
- *Alan Hardy, Subjective views on US state flags: 123 polling studies
- *Geoff Parsons, UK flag flying regulations and protocol
- *John Cartledge, Cry God for Harry, England and St … who? Exploring the chequered history and strange resurrection of the English national flag
- *Graham Bartram, Sovereignty or sequestration? National emblems and the architecture of exclusion
- Eugene Byrne, Bristol: symbols and rituals 1373–2022
- Royston Alan Griffey: The Vexillological Voyages of The Matthew of Bristol
- Guided tours of Bristol Old Town, M Shed and SS Great Britain
- * Flag Institute
FI Winter ’25 Conference
Saturday 15 November 2025, online
FI Spring ’25 Conference
17/18 May 2025, Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, York
- *Stephen Rayner: The contested legitimacy of Croatian symbols in the Anglosphere, 1973–99
- *Mike Scott Rumble, Chairman, White Lion Society: Into the azure: The vexillology of civil aviation
- *Gustavo Tracchia, AAV, CIDEC Foundation: An introduction to flags and sashes
- *Oskar Pernefeldt, President, IFOPE–O: Uniting under one banner: Designing a flag for Planet Earth
- *Danladi Kole Bako, Bankoleart: Colours: Symbolism for medium of communication
- *Geoff Parsons, past Chairman: An introduction to standards, guidons, colours, guns and truncheons
- * Flag Institute
Day 1 ended with our President’s Drinks and River Cruise, while Day 2 featured two guided visits:
- Merchant Adventurers’ Hall and its collection of heraldic craft guild banners – led by Lauren Marshall, Museum Director
- York Army Museum – private opening; led by Major (Ret’d) Graeme Green, Museum Director and curator of the Royal Dragoon Guards collection
FI Winter ’24 Conference
Saturday 16 November 2024, online
- Francis M. O’Donnell, President, Genealogical Society of Ireland & Michael P. O’Crowley, Clans of Ireland: Flags and emblems of the clans of Ireland
- *Pier Paolo Lugli, President, CISV: A story of Libyan flags
- Ted Kaye & *Brian Cham, NAVA; Andrew Prekker, Tyler & Jenae Michaletz, designers: The star-spangled angle: inside Minnesota’s flag design process
- *Tareth Peacock, Flags in Focus: Urban symbols: The role and relevance of flags
- * Flag Institute
18 May 2024, Conway Hall, London
- *Graham Bartram, Chief Vexillologist: A Flag for a polluted world: Antarctica Flag redesign proposal
- *Geoff Parsons, past Chairman: Flags of the Antarctic Territories and the southern regions of South America
- *Brian Cham, NAVA: Unravelling the Tino Rangatiratanga Flag (Māori Flag) through the eyes of its designer
- *John Cartledge: Flags and the law in England
- Patrick Rennie, President, Mars Society UK: Interplanetary flag design: A new flag for Mars
- * Flag Institute
FI Winter ’23 Conference
18/19 November 2023, Edinburgh
- Sheriff George Way of Plean, Carrick Pursuivant: Scottish clan banners
- Alasdair Hutton, author & broadcaster: Just how precious is a flag?
- Kevin Greig, heraldic artist: Bespoke table flags
- Fraser Thompson, Scottish Flag Trust: Introducing the Scottish Flag Trust
- *Sheila Collins, The Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh: A flag for the Edinburgh Exiles
- *Philip Tibbetts, Communities Vexillologist: New community flags in Moray, Banff and Berwickshire
- *Graham Bartram, Chief Vexillologist: The Chief Vexillologist’s year
- * Flag Institute
Our first conference in Scotland, our first 2-day event, and our first collaboration with The Heraldry Society of Scotland. Day 1 at the Royal Scots Club also included a welcome from Councillor Robert Aldridge, Rt Hon Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and our Presidents’ Dinner. Day 2 featured two exclusive guided visits:
- Trades House, led by Ian Robertson, Deacon Convenor of the Trades of Edinburgh
- St Giles Cathedral, Thistle Chapel and banners, led by Elizabeth Roads, Secretary of the Order of the Thistle
FI Spring ’23 Conference
29 April 2023, Victory Services Club, London
- Mick McTiernan, military historian: Choosing a flag for the Cretan state
- Erik Nystul, Utah State Flag Task Force: The new Utah State Flag
- * Rachel Phelan, textile conservator (Dublin): Flying high at St Patricks: Conservation during Covid
- Dr Mario Jareb, Croatian Institute of History and Matica Hrvatska: From checkerboard to tricolor: Development and use of the Croatian coat of arms and flag throughout the centuries
- * Flag Institute
FI Winter ’22 Conference
19 November 2022, Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds
- Maura Andreoni, historian and translator, The botanical world and state flags
- *Graham Bartram, Chief Vexillologist, End of an era, beginning of a new realm
- *Philip Tibbetts, Communities Vexillologist & March Pursuivant Extraordinary: March of the flags: In conversation with Philip Tibbetts
- * Flag Institute
FI Spring ’22 Conference
23 April 2022, David Game College, London (Golden Jubilee Celebration)
- Professor Dominic Bryan: The trouble with flags: The Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition [Northern Ireland]
- *Anton Pihl, Nordic Flag Society (President) & Greve Museum: Nordic Cross flags: A growing family
- *Roger Ourset, SFV: Flags and national anthems
- *Nick Farley, MD The Flag Consultancy: The work of The Flag Consultancy
- *John Hall, Chairman: A Golden Jubilee visual history of the Flag Institute
- * Flag Institute
The conference also featured the 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner at the Ferus Suite, Hilton Doubletree, Tower of London, and Who Dey Vex!, a two-day Golden Jubilee exhibition by Bankoleart.
FI Winter ’21 Conference
20 November 2021, People’s History Museum, Manchester (Golden Jubilee Celebration)
- Luke Jerram, visual artist: In memoriam
- Dr Matthew Stallard, Research Associate, UCL: The Black Country Flag row: Representing everyone?
- *John Cartledge: One down, only 10,448 to go … the gestation and birth of a town flag [Elstree and Borehamwood]
- * Flag Institute
FI Merchant Navy Day Special
3 September 2021, online (Golden Jubilee Celebration)
- David Craddock, author: Flags still flying: 300 years of signal flags at sea
- *Brian Elliott, European Maritime Safety Agency: Flags and modern day shipping
- David Field, Chairman, MNWMF: The Australian National Flag, Australian Red Ensign and the Merchant Navy War Memorial Fund Ltd: Delivering on a vision of remembrance
- * Flag Institute
FI Heraldica Slovenica Special
15 July 2021, online (Golden Jubilee Celebration)
- Aleksander Hribovšek, President, Heraldica Slovenica: 29th International Congress of Vexillology (ICV29), Ljubljana, Slovenia, 11–15 July 2022
- Aleksander Hribovšek, Proposed flags and coats of arms for Slovenia’s provinces
- Anže Hobič, Proposed new law on Slovenia’s state symbols
- * Flag Institute
More info: http://www.pokrajine.com/
FI 50th Birthday Party
23 April 2021, online (Golden Jubilee Celebration)
- Patrick O’Connor, filmmaker, Look Away, Look Away
- *Malcolm Farrow (President), Lt. Col. Dr Željko Heimer (President, FIAV), Andrew Rosindell MP (Chairman, Flags and Heraldry Committee APPG), *Graham Bartram (Chief Vexillologist), *Philip Tibbetts (Communities Vexillologist), Flag Institute members
- * Flag Institute
FI Winter ’20 Conference (cancelled)
FI Spring ’20 Conference (cancelled)
FI Winter ’19 Conference
2 November 2019, People’s History Museum, Manchester
- *Annie M. Platoff, NAVA: Soiuz and symbolic union: representations of unity in Soviet symbolism
- Dr Andrea Cioncolini & Dr Mostafa R. A. Nabawy, University of Manchester: Flags that can generate energy from wind and sun
- *Hannah Patton, HeadStart Kent, Flast on tour: Talking about flags in unusual places
- *Bernard Muscat, Social Media Co-ordinator: The World Cup of Flags
- *Leigh Wetherall, Convenor: St George Festival, Genoa
- * Flag Institute
