The East African Community (EAC) will have a new logo later this week after judges scrutinize over 400 entries that entered a competition.
The EAC Director of Corporate Communications, Richard Othieno says by the end of Wednesday, all the entries will have been presented to the branding experts for scrutiny at the EAC headquarters in Arusha Tanzania.
Also to be designed are logos for the three organs of the Community and eight institutions including the East African Development Bank (EADB), the East African Health Research Commission (EAHRC), the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC). Others are the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) and the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO).
Under the EAC Brand Architecture competition, bidders were also required to recommend the corporate colour of the organization and a logo/emblem which should be a unique unifier of the EAC.
The exercise will see a new flag designed for the Community, replacing the current one which has been criticised for having too many colours.
The winner of a design competition, which was launched in Juba, South Sudan on June 1, 2017 will be awarded $ 25,000 (UgShs 55 million).
EAC tidbits
The EAC comprises Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, with Sudan keen on joining one of the oldest economic blocs in Africa.
The EAC is home to 150 million citizens, of which 22% is urban population. With a land area of 1.82 million square kilometres and a combined Gross Domestic Product of US$ 146 billion, its realisation bears great strategic and geopolitical significance and prospects for the renewed and reinvigorated EAC.
The work of the EAC is guided by its Treaty which established the Community. It was signed on 30 November 1999 and entered into force on July 7, 2000 following its ratification by the original three Partner States – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Rwanda and Burundi acceded to the EAC Treaty on 18 June 2007 and became full Members of the Community with effect from July 1, 2007. South Sudan acceeded to the Treaty on April 15, 2016 and become a full Member on August 15, 2016.
As one of the fastest growing regional economic blocs in the world, the EAC is widening and deepening co-operation among the Partner States in various key spheres for their mutual benefit. These spheres include political, economic and social.
At the moment, the regional integration process is in full swing as reflected by the encouraging progress of the East African Customs Union, the establishment of the Common Market in 2010 and the implementation of the East African Monetary Union Protocol.
