The Netherlands Vexillological Association, the Netherlands Flag Museum Foundation and the Rotterdam Flag Parade Foundation invite you to join us in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 4 – 10 August 2013 for the Netherlands Flag Congress 2013, the joint meeting of the 25^th International Congress of Vexillology (25^th ICV) and the 23^rd session of the General Assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Associations Vexillologiques (FIAV). The three Dutch partners joined forces to organize the 25^th ICV via a separate foundation, the 25^th International Congress of Vexillology Rotterdam 2013.

The main Congress venue is the modern Beurs(Exchange)/World Trade Center building, located in the center of Rotterdam, an area that has been totally rebuilt after its destruction in May 1940. The congress venue is located at the entrance of a Metro/Underground station, opposite the preferred NH Atlanta Rotterdam Hotel, a one minute walk from the City Hall (opening reception), five minutes from the Maritime Museum (unique flag exhibition), with busy shopping streets, restaurants, sandwich bars around the corner and a 10 minute walk from the Central Railway Station. Other Congress excursion destinations like the famous Peace Palace/International Court of Justice in The Hague and the depot of the Museum of Ethnology Leiden (with a unique flag collection) are a half-hour away.

The Netherlands is an open, straightforward, tolerant, democratic and densely populated country in Western Europe with a prosperous and stable economy and full of friendly people who mostly like to be as normal as possible. It is a small country  with a population of 16,5 million people. Within its boundaries are some of the most fascinating sights: peaceful farmlands, woodlands, flat ''polders'' (reclaimed land) and miles of canals, picturesque villages and old fishing ports, medieval castles, top ranked universities, leading multinationals like Shell, Philips, Unilever, bustling modern cities as well as the biggest ports of Europe (the Seaport of Rotterdam and Schiphol International Airport), and of course the windmills, dikes, wooden shoes and tulips that have become "Holland's" international symbols. It is a paradise for those who love historic cities and old painters like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh etc. The Netherlands' history has been preserved in monuments of all kinds. For historical reasons the government and parliament are in The Hague, although Amsterdam is the capital/the largest city and Rotterdam is the second largest city with the world's biggest port outside Asia.

The Netherlands has long played an important role in the world of international vexillological congresses: before FIAV was founded, the first International Congress of Vexillology was held in 1965 in the Netherlands. The 6^th ICV in 1975 was held on a ship in the Netherlands. Reasons enough to organize the 25^th “Jubilee” ICV 2013 in the country where the ICVs started: the Netherlands, a nation with a strong maritime history and an open, international trade- and transport-based economy. As a seafaring nation the Netherlands has a very long “flag history”. A variety of very old and modern flags will be shown during the 25^th ICV Congress in the country that saw the start of ICVs. In 2013 visits will be paid to the Rotterdam International Flag Parade (230 flags), to The Hague's United Nations Flag Parade (200 flags), to an exhibition of unique hand painted old flags in the Rotterdam Maritime Museum, to the Peace Palace/International Court of Justice in The Hague and the depot of the Museum of Ethnology Leiden with its old flag collection.

This website is the official home of the 25^th ICV, the Netherlands Flag Congress 2013 and will be updated regularly as Congress plans and programs are developed and finalized, so keep checking back! We hope and we are sure that you will join us with the whole “vexillological family” in Rotterdam, the Netherlands for an exciting vexillological week!

Joost C.A. Schokkenbroek, PhD - President of the Netherlands Vexillological Association

Tom Bokhout - President of the Netherlands Flag Museum Foundation and the Netherlands Flag Parade Foundation