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Human Rights Logo Competition – Organizers delighted with over 15,000 entries from 190 countries

01.08.2011 - Press release

Nearly everybody knows that a heart symbolizes love and a dove means peace. But what is the symbol for human rights? In fact, there is no logo for human rights.

In order to fill the gap, a competition was launched which closed on 31 July. People from over 190 countries responded to the challenge, submitting a total of 15,296 suggestions.

In this connection Markus Löning, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, issued the following statement:

“’m delighted with the huge response. The number of entries has exceeded all our expectations. Clearly, we have exposed a gap that many want to see closed. In so doing we have raised awareness for human rights as a whole. Many people have joined in who would not otherwise normally engage with the issue. We are looking forward to seeing who makes it into the Top 10. Those entries will then be displayed on the internet from 27 August for the international public to cast its final vote.”

Background

All submissions are displayed on the internet – www.humanrightslogo.net – and visitors to the website can vote for their favourite logo up to 5 August. The results will decide on the Top 100. From these a jury will choose the Top 10, which will then appear on the worldwide web between 27 August and 17 September for the public to cast their vote, this time to decide on the final winner of the competition. The winning logo will be presented in New York at the end of September to coincide with the new Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The initiative is supported by a high-profile celebrity jury, which includes the foreign ministers of the nine partner states (Bosnia und Herzegovina, Chile, Germany, Canada, Mauritius, Senegal, Singapore, the Czech Republic and Uruguay), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay (South Africa) and five Nobel Peace Prize winners – Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar), Shirin Ebadi (Iran), Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh), Mikhail Gorbachev (Russia) and Jimmy Carter (USA) – as well as Angelina Acheng Atyam (children’s rights activist, Uganda), Waris Dirie (supermodel and women’s rights activist, Somalia), Roland Emmerich (Hollywood director and producer, Germany), Carolyn Gomes (human rights activist, Jamaica), Juanes (pop star and peace activist, Colombia), Somaly Mam (human rights activist, Cambodia), Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu (human rights activist, Sri Lanka), Jimmy Wales (wikipedia founder, USA), and internationally renowned design experts such as Ahmad Humeid (Jordan), Javier Mariscal (Spain), Erik Spiekermann (Germany) and many more.

To find out more click on www.humanrightslogo.net or check out “humanrightslogo” on Facebook and Twitter.


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