A flag of Antarctica is a flag or flag design that represents the continent of Antarctica. As a condominium with no single governing body, it does not have an official flag of its own. However, several designs have been created for the purpose of representing the continent. Flag designs Since the 1970s, there have been many designs proposed as a flag for Antarctica. The Antarctic Treaty System of agreements, which regulates international relations with respect to Antarctica, also has a flag to represent it. White flag In 1929, members of the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition on RRS Discovery used white cotton sheeting to improvise a courtesy ensign (a flag used as a token of respect by vessels while in foreign waters) for a continent without a flag of its own. It is now in the National Maritime Museum in London. The white flag was used to represent Antarctica on at least two occasions on the voyage to Antarctica. On 1 August, 1929, The Times noted that "the ship was flying the Union Jack at her forepeak, the white Antarctic flag at the foremast, and the Australian flag at the stern." Whitney Smith's proposal Vexillologist Whitney Smith presented an orange flag with a white emblem in the hoist at the 1978 annual meeting of the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA). The letter A stands for Antarctica, the semi-sphere represents the area below the Antarctic Circle, and the hands represent human protection of the environment. For high visibility, he chose international orange, a color commonly used in the aerospace industry to set objects apart from their surroundings. The bright orange color was also chosen due to its rarity among national flags, as no nation with an active research base on the continent uses the color orange in their flag. The design elements are positioned on the hoist side of the flag so that it would remain visible even if the flag were damaged by the harsh Antarctic winds. Graham Bartram's proposal Graham Bartram, the chief vexillologist of British organization Flag Institute, designed another proposal in 1996 for a computer program. Using the flag of the United Nations as his model, he chose a plain white map of the continent on a blue background to symbolize neutrality. Vexillologist Ted Kaye had Bartram's design printed and took them with him on an Antarctic cruise. At Kaye's request, it flew at