HGZD
Thrteen years ago on this day the Croatian Heraldic and Vexillological Association (HGZD) was established.
I am using this opportunity to express my gratitude to you all for your support and cooperation. In my opinion during the last 13 years we accomplished much though small and modest steps, thus slowly gathering heritage to which we may be proud of. I am taking the liberty to share with you some of them.
Through our Association passed some sixty persons, some staying shorter other longer period before loosing further interest, while others continued our joint effort. We are especially happy that we increased number of younger colleagues, both female and male, who actively jointed our activities. Recounting by the number of annual fees paid, the number of active members varies firmly around twenty.
Since 2007 the Association is a member of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations (FIAV, La Fédération Internationale des Associations Vexillologiques) while from 2008 a member of the International Confederation for Genealogy and Heraldry (CIGH, La Confédération Internationale de Généalogie et d’Héraldique. The HGZD president is member of the FIAV Vexillological Conventions for Flag Descriptions Commission and an associate member of the International Academy of Heraldry (AIH, La Académie Internationale d’Héraldique). Representatives of our Association regularly actively participate in international congresses, those of vexillology in the odd, and on heraldry and genealogy in the even years. We exchange publications with numerous societies, and currently we are receiving through the exchange 52 various periodicals, some printed, others in electronic form.
Since the establishment, the Association held several hundreds of public lectures through our Tribune and in other occasions, and manyfold more lectures were held by our members for various institutions, associations and fora where we were invited. We take special pride in being guests for dozen of foreign colleagues who held lecture at our Tribune. To that one should also count a number of book presentations, some exhibitions and other activities.
Since the establiushment we are publishing the journal “Grb i zastava”, its number 25 just now being in final stages of preparations, since recently in enlarged number of pages (36, from previous 20). The journal provides all texts in Croatian and English, the English proof-reading kindly volontary done by Edward B. Kaye, the secretary of the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA).Dring the years the journal received financial support from the Ministry of Culture and the City of Zagreb, and in the several recently years by the Ministry of Science and Education, as a journal for popularisation of science. More than sixty authors published papers in the journal so far, many of them more then once, and some in uninterrupted series and columns. The number of published articles surpasses 350 on more than 600 pages.
The Association published on its own or as co-publisher several proceedings and monographs, and adding to that scientific and professional publications of our members issued by other publishers, we may be proud of dozen of titles, but also a large number of papers in all types of periodicals. I am particularly happy for graduation and doctoral theses with topics in heraldry, vexillology and related studies.
I am convinced that you are aware that there are so much more we could be proud of, but let leave it to this at the occasion.
I would like to remind you to the “Croatian Symbolic Identity” lecture cycle, held on Thursdays in the Trešnjevka Cultural Centre (the next lecture is Croatian Awards of Merit by Mirko Marijan, on 9 May).
We are planning that immediately following the last lecture in the cycle, we hold the annual reporting HGZD Assembly. We shall send the invitations in due time and prepare the usual extraordinary GiZ issue, i.e. the HGZD Assembly Info Bulletin. Please, provide any information on activities held that you consider should be included in the Annual Report, as well as any proposals for activities to be included in the plan for future. Also, send any proposals for the Assembly agenda items or for the “Miscellaneous” last item in the agenda.
I remind you that the right to vote in the Assembly is given to those members who settled the annual fee for the current year, or for at least one of the two previous years. Since it is not likely, due to technical reasons, that the next issue of “Grb i zastava” with payment slips will reach you before the Assembly – I urge all members to pay the membership fee in time.
IBAN: HR2323600001101905988 Model: 00 or 99
Ammountz: 100 kn per annum (students and pensioners 50 kn).
CIGH