Home - North American Vexillological Association (original) (raw)

NAVA has learned of a recent effort to survey the designs of national flags. While the anonymous organizers purport to represent NAVA, the survey is NOT authorized by NAVA. We encourage anyone contacted about the survey to understand that NAVA has no part in it and to ignore it.

It’s All About Flags!

VEXILLOLOGY: The scientific study of the history, symbolism, and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general. — Whitney Smith, Flags Through the Ages and Across the World, 1975

[if you're viewing this on a smart phone, use the Menu to see more options.]

Do you love flags? Then join the North American Vexillological Association, the largest organization of flag enthusiasts and scholars in the world, promoting excellence in vexillology and camaraderie among those interested in flags since 1967. Over 1,000 members belong to NAVA, across most states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada and more than 30 other countries. You don't need to be an expert to join!

Our annual meeting is the largest conference of flag scholars, designers, collectors, conservators, educators, merchants, manufacturers, historians, and hobbyists on the continent, providing outstanding opportunities for learning, networking, and fun. First-time attendees get a discount. Frequent interest area meetings take place virtually, including regular events for younger members. NAVA's YouTube Channel shows the best of our meetings.

All NAVA members receive our print publications Raven: A Journal of Vexillology (annual scholarly journal) and Vexillum (quarterly full-color magazine), our monthly e-mail bulletin Semaphore, our weekly e-blast Vexi-News, and access to members-only features on NAVA.org (with the most recent issues of our publications, our member directory, our event calendar, and more). First-year members get discounts on back publications.

Our booklet Good Flag, Bad Flag has influenced and informed thousands of flag-design efforts since its publication in 2006, news of NAVA's surveys has reached tens of millions of people, and our themed books on tribal, religious, city, and regional flags have advanced public knowledge of our fascinating subject.

Members connect with one another in many ways, such as helping governments with flag design, conducting research and flag conservation, advising the public on protocol, and answering flag-related questions from museums and others.

Memberships are based on calendar years; new members receive all publications for the year they join and renew at year-end (unless they enroll after October 1, in which case they begin receiving publications the following year and renew at the following year-end). Joining NAVA is easy and inexpensive! Membership dues are half-price for students and youth. Regular membership for those over 17 is US$40 annually (US$20 for full-time undergraduate and graduate students). Associate membership for those under 18 is US$20 annually with all privileges of active membership. Organizational Membership for non-profits or businesses is US$60 annually, including preferred rates on exhibit space at the annual meeting, a listing in the Business Directory (for businesses), and all privileges of active members except holding office.

Your membership card is downloadable after you join.

You can find NAVA at @flagstudies on Twitter and Instagram. We are also on Facebook.com/nava.org, where we also sponsor three discussion groups open to flag enthusiasts from around the world: Flags and Vexillology, for discussing flags, flag news, and flag studies; Designing Flags, for discussion and promotion of flag design; and NAVA Matters, for news and discussion about NAVA's mission and members.

Click here to join NAVA and start enjoying our community of flag enthusiasts and scholars! We'll send you the publications for the year so far, a NAVA table flag and a NAVA pin, a print copy of Good Flag, Bad Flag, and more!

Since this website's creation in the 1990s, many people have shaped its form and content, including Dick Gideon, Ted Kaye, Jonathan Lehmann, Pete Loeser, Annie Platoff, Jon Radel, Shane Sievers, and Charles Spain.
The current site constitutes a tribute to their devotion to NAVA and vexillology. We thank them all.