Race to redesign EAC flag, emblem

Jun 21, 2017

The current logo features a map of Lake Victoria with partners states.

EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

Students of art, design and graphics have a chance to win millions of Ugandan shillings in the East African Community (EAC) Architecture Competition aimed at coming up with a new design of the EAC flag.

This involves the redesigning of all symbols and emblems to align them with the current developments in the integration process.

The overall winner is to get $25,000 (about sh89m), first runner-up $5,000 (about sh17m) and second runner-up $2500 (about sh8m).

State minister for EAC affairs, Julius Wandera Maganda told a press conference at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala that they have organized the competition as part of the EAC brand architecture strategy.

The strategy proposes several initiatives that include redesigning a new EAC logo and flag and developing a common unique identifier for all organs and institutions of the community.

The current logo features a map of Lake Victoria with partners states, surrounded by an industrial wheel with a leaf arch on either side with the letters ‘EAC' with a pictogram of a handshake.

Maganda said the current logo precludes the Republic of South Sudan and any members that may be admitted in future.

Currently the EAC is composed of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and South Sudan which was admitted recently.

He noted that the competition targets all youths studying or practicing design, art or graphics, between the age of 18 to 35 years.

The EAC is conducting sensitization workshops to involve the youth on the rebranding in selected universities of partner states.

The sensitization programmes are already ongoing in other countries and Uganda will be launching its campaign on June 27 at the College of Design, Art and Technology at Makerere University.

All competitors' deliverables shall include; one EAC emblem, 10 logos for the EAC organs and institutions,  EAC corporate colour (s), a unique identifier that will be adopted in the emblem and logos, justification of all proposals submitted, and a brief graphic demonstration of the application of the emblem and logos in offline and digital forms.

"A committee comprising of a representative from all EAC partner states and design experts will judge the concepts submitted and the shortlisted concepts will be invited to make formal presentations to the review panel," said Maganda.

'Soft copy or hard copy'

The competition ends on August 31, a little over two months away, and is exclusively open to the youth of the EAC partner states including those in the diaspora.

"Organisations formed and owned by youths are also eligible to participate. They should submit their work either in soft copy or hard copy to the EAC secretariat in Arusha, Tanzania," said Maganda.

The minister explained that the decision was reached upon by the council of ministers after realizing that the current flag and logo were not designed to be adaptive to the expansion of the community both in terms of geographical location and colour scheme.

He also noted that EAC does not have clearly defined brand architecture for its organs and institutions thus creating a gap that has led to the inconsistent design of new logos for EAC institutions.

Some of the organs and institutions include; EAC Secretariat, East African Court of Justice (EACJ), East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC), Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSO), East African Health Research Commission (EAHRC), East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO) and Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA).


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