THE FLAG DATA CENTRE

In spring 1994, the Flag Data Centre (FLADAC, Středisko vexilologických informací, SVI in Czech) was founded in the town of Hradec Králové by Ing. Petr Exner. The centre deals with popularization of vexillology, with communal flags in the Czech Republic, and publishing activities, as well. FLADAC also runs the www.vexi.info pages. In 2003, FLADAC became a member of the Fédération Internationale des Associations vexillologiques.

Between 1994 and 1995, the FLADAC issued a single-page INFORMACE with current news in vexillology. Since 1996, the centre has published the vexi.info bulletin six times per a year. Two monographs by Jaroslav Martykán have been published in English: CZECHIA about Czech civic flags and SOMALIA about vexillological development in this country. In co-operation with the Czech Vexillological Society, the centre also released a yearbook VEXILOKONTAKT in English since 1997.

Since 1996, the row of publications with the common name The Vexillological Lexicon has been also issued. The two earliest parts of this series paid attention to the world vexillological associations, their activities and to the vexillological terminology. From the third continuation, the lexicon has published regularly new communal flags in the Czech Republic as they were granted by the chairperson of the House of Deputies in accordance with the Communes Act since 1991. From this point of view, the Vexillological Lexicon is the only complete listening of the Czech municipal and communal flags published actually in our country. Petr Exner was also editor of two anthologies dedicated to history of Czechoslovak and Czech flags as follows: 100 years of Czechoslovakia flag (2020) and Flags of Czechoslovakia (2022). The third issue about flags of Czechia is intended for 2024.

In May 1996, the FLADAC lined up the 1st Czech National Congress of Vexillology, the very first such a vexillological event in Central and East Europe that took place in Hradec Králové. This unique occasion was co-organized by the regional Museum of East Bohemia and the Czech Vexillological Society, to that the centre assisted by organizing of the next congresses in Ústí nad Labem (2000), Plzeň (2004), Přibyslav (2008), Liberec (2012), Ústí nad Orlicí (2016) and Frýdek-Místek (2020).

Petr Exner established the Czech vexillological pages (www.vexilologie.cz) on Internet in July 1996 in order to deliver full information on vexillology in the Czech Republic and was in charge of their continuous updating. In collaboration with Pavel Fojtík and Zbyšek Svoboda, the FLADAC director prepared brochure Vlajky, prapory a jejich použití (Flags and their display) for the flag makers company of Libea, s.r.o. in 2004. This publication (in Czech, with English contents added) explains the basic rules of hoisting flags in the Czech Republic. It presents illustratively how to avoid a wrong hoisting of flags generally and/or how to display Czech national flag together with that of the European Union, the regional, communal, and house flags in accordance with the legal requirements. The up-to-date 2nd edition was published in 2013.

Since 2000, Petr Exner is not only director of the FLADAC but also an expert-member of the Subcommittee for Heraldry and Vexillology of the House of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. In this manner, Petr Exner is participating in the legal procedure of the approval of new regional, municipal, and communal flags in the Czech Republic. He also took part in the development of a new information system REKOS (Register of Communal Symbols, Registr komunálních symbolů in Czech) operated on the House of the Deputies´ web-site.

He is also author of the arms and flag of the Královéhradecký krai – one of thirteen regions of the Czech Republic – and flags of several towns and communes in Czechia, he modeled the winning design of the municipal flag of the Engels town in the Saratov region of the Russian Federation. Petr Exner successfully participated in the public competitions for the symbols of the Japanese Vexillological Association (JAVA) and the Vexillological Association of the State of Texas (VAST) those have displayed his designs as their logos since that time.

As a director of the FLADAC, Petr Exner participated at the FIAV international congresses in Zurich (1993), York (2001), Berlin (2007), Washington (2011), Rotterdam (2013), Sydney (2015), San Antonio (2019) and Ljubljana (2022). The FLADAC secretary Jaroslav Martykán attended the ICV in Zurich (1993), Cape Town (1997), York (2001), Berlin (2007) and Rotterdam (2013). Both FLADAC officials took part in many meetings of the partner vexillological associations in Slovakia, Georgia, Germany, Poland, Italy, United Kingdom, and Spain. They contribute to the advancement of vexillology in the Czech Republic and its active presentation in the world.

Jaroslav Martykán also edited the VEXILOKONTAKT yearbook in English. It was published between 1997 and 2018 and presented an English translation of the main and the most interesting articles published previously in the Vexilologie bulletin of the Czech Vexillological Society written in Czech.

Petr Exner received The Vexillon Award For Excellence in the Promotion of Vexillology granted by the FIAV on the occasion of the 21st International Congress of Vexillology in Buenos Aires, 2005 and Fellow of the Federation in Sydney, 2015. He is also a laureate of the Diploma of Merit of the Czech Vexillological Society from 1996 and 2004. In 2016, Petr Exner was awarded the Memorial Medal of the Chairman of the House of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and the Laureate of the Czech Vexillogical Society during the 6th Czech National Congress of Vexillology held in Ústí nad Orlicí. In the course of the XXVIII International Congress of Vexillology in San Antonio, Petr Exner received the Fellowship of the Vexillological Association of the State Texas (VAST).In 2023, the State Council for Heraldry attached to the Parliament of Georgia awarded him the Certificate of Appreciation.

Jaroslav Martykán is double holder of the CVS Diploma of Merit (1982, 2012), the Cogress Award for Service to Czech Vexillology and the Laureate of the Czech Vexillological Society in 2020. Since 2021, he is Honorary President of the CVS.