A meeting named Post-Congressional Vexilological Event – Rijeka 2022 was held at the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Rijeka (UFRI) in cooperation with the Croatian Heraldic and Vexillological Society (HGZD) on 18 July 2022, as an event following the 29th International Vexilological Congress held in Ljubljana previous week, organized by the Slovenian Vexilological and Heraldic Society “Heraldica Slovenica”. International vexilological congresses are held every other year under the auspices of the International Federation of Vexilological Associations (FIAV). The HGZD president Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Željko Heimer was elected FIAV president during the previous Congress in San Antonio, Texas, USA, 2019 and he was re-elected in Ljubljana for the next two-year term.
Many delegates from the Ljubljana Congress continued their vexilological socializing at this one-day event in Rijeka, in which almost twenty foreign participants with several local experts participated. The Vice Dean of the UFRI Prof. Marinko Lazzarich introduced the meeting and wished the participants successful work, while the meeting was then moderated by the Secretary of the Faculty Željko Ševerdija, who is also a member of HGZD. Three expert lectures were held that presented topics significant to Croatian vexillological heritage, both the older and the modern. Prof. Željko Bartulović from the Department of Legal History of the Faculty of Law at the University of Rijeka held a lecture on the state-legal history of Rijeka. Marin Sabolović, director of the Homeland War Museum in the “Barutana 1991″ Memorial Area Gallery from Bjelovar presented the flags of the Homeland War units, using examples of flags from a collection of special police units, the National Guard Corps and the Croatian Army mostly from the Bjelovar area that were created in the early 1990s. Then the president of HGZD Dr. Željko Heimer gave a lecture on the development of maritime flags on the Eastern Adriatic, in which he presented various types of civilian and military maritime flags that were used from the late Middle Ages to the present day on the Croatian coast.
During a break between lectures, participants could look at and discuss some twenty flags that were displayed in the lecture room, starting with modern flags of the University and the City of Rijeka, Croatian Navy and the Port Authorities, through various event flags such as Croatian EU presidency 2020 and the European Capital of Culture Rijeka 2020, to some historical flags, as well as the flag of HGZD and FIAV.
The meeting was attended by deans and professors of some faculties of the University of Rijeka, two other FIAV officials – Secretary-General Bruce Berry from South Africa and Secretary-General for Conresses Graham Bartram from Great Britain, presidents and members and the Czech vexilological society, Australian flag research society, North American vexilological society, the Restoration and Conservation Institute of Ireland, the Bulgarian Heraldic and Vexilological Society, the German Flag Research Society and the Belgian Flag Research Center.
During the event, the HGZD President awarded the HGZD silver medal to the Secretary of the Faculty Željko Ševerdija for his help in organizing the meeting. HGZD introduced medals for merit previous year on the occasion of its 15th anniversary, and this was the first such silver medal awarded.
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