Flags for the Whole World


imagine...


The flag of the United Nations.  Adopted October 20, 1947.  It consists of the official UN emblem in white on a field of light blue.  It can be purchased from most flag merchants.

 
The Flag of Earth, designed by James W. Codle in 1970.  It consists of a blue circle, representing the earth, on a black background.  To the left is a segment of a large yellow circle, representing the sun.  On the lower right is a small white circle, representing the moon.  I don't believe it is available for purchase.

 
The Earth Flag, often called the Earth Day Flag, designed by John McConnell in 1970.  It is the photographic image of the earth taken during the flight of Apollo 10 in 1969, viewed from above the Indian Ocean just east of the Cape of Good Hope, on a background of dark blue.  It is available from a number of flag companies.

This flag was brought to my attention by Jean-Sylvain Delroux.  It was designed during the 70's by a group of journalists. The four colors representing the four human families sailing on blue spaceship Earth. The flag was published for the first time in a French weekly magazine called "La Vie."  More details are available here.

The One World Flag, designed by David Bartholomew in 1996.  Occuring to him in a dream, it consists of a traditional yin-yang symbol, blue above and green below, representing the planet earth living in harmony, on a background of white, representing peace.  The edges are formed of colored bars, red above, yellow on the right, white below, and black on the left, representing the four compass directions.  It can be purchased from the One World organization.

 
This flag, which I designed in 1999, consists of a circle containing a realistic outline of the eastern hemisphere, in green and light blue, surrounded by a gold ring with 60 equal-size short rays extending outwards, all on a dark blue background.  The western hemishere is on the opposite side.  The flag combines the images of our planet and the rising sun of the new millennium.

 
The UN Postal Administration and the International Olympic Committee had a contest for children, asking them to design a world peace flag for the 2000 Olympics.  The winner was designed by Mateja Prunk, 12, of Slovenia. "The sun and the earth are intertwined, they do not function one without the other. The sun represents optimism and positive energy."  I love it!

 

This lovely flag was brought to my attention by Julia of Peace Mamas: "Peace Mamas is a single, work-at-home mom owned business...  We donate a percentage of our profits to non-profit human rights and environmental groups. Our World Peace Flag© was created as a response to the recent events to affirm that everyone, the world over, deserves to live in Peace."  You can order a flag and other items from their website

 
Here's another beautiful flag that you can purchase:  It is called the Waking Planet World Flag, and it was designed by Barbara Upton.  It is available at her website.

 

Aretta Swanson brought this flag to my attention.  It is produced by the Universal Flag Company, and can be ordered at http://www.UniversalFlag.com.


This isn't strictly speaking a world flag, but I like it a lot, and it is associated with something very important to me:  This is the flag designed by Stefan Fisahn for the proposed international auxiliary language Lingua Franca Nova.  It is based on the flag of the Seychelle Islands, where they speak a French-based Creole, but alters the colors to suggest the rising sun.


This flag was brought to my attention by Diana Lindley, co-founder of the World Unity Flag Project.  For more on their flag, go visit their website at www.worldunityflag.org.


One more proposal:  A white dove is recognized in much of the world as a symbol of peace, as is the olive branch.  Here is one of the most beloved images of the dove of peace by Picasso.  On a white background (also a symbolic of peace), it is easily drawn by anyone wishing to fly a flag other than the ones that symbolize nationalism and the limited perspective that implies.  Imagine!

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