Filipino bags first prize in ASEAN logo design contest

WINNERS ALL Filipino graphic artist Joemari Manguiat (center), the winner of the Logo Design Competition for Asean Youth; runner-up Swumm Htet Naing from Myanmar (left); and third-place winner Mohammad Firdaus from Malaysia at the launch of the new logo at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia on January 21. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ASEAN SECRETARIAT. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.

JAKARTA, Jan 25, 2020, The Manila Times. A Filipino graphic artist from Batangas won first place in the 2020 Year of Asean Identity Logo Design Competition for Asean Youth. Joemari Manguiat, who hails from Lipa City, received the award in a ceremony held at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia on January 21, The Manila Times reported.

Manguiat’s design was inspired by a blooming flower, which represents prosperity and unity among the Asean member-states.

The 10 red petals represent the Asean states with the color red on their flags — Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam. The blue petals symbolize the flags of the remaining states — Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The smatter of yellow symbolizes prosperity and purity.

The two runner-up designs were a bouquet of flowers by Swumm Htet Naing from Myanmar and a diamond-shaped design by Mohammad Firdaus from Malaysia.

The logo will be featured in various Asean materials and high-profile events throughout 2020.

The year has been designated as the Year of Asean Identity to further develop and foster a sense of belonging and shared identity among the peoples of Southeast Asia.

Announced in September last year, the competition attracted 1,378 submissions from all Asean states. The event was organized by the Asean-German Cooperation, the brainchild of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Corporation for International Cooperation).

A 2018 poll found that 96 percent of people in the regional bloc were aware of its existence. But fewer than one-third possessed knowledge of the community and its three pillars — the Asean Political-Security Community, Asean Economic Community and the Asean Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC)

“The word ‘identity’ is a terminology often used in Asean, but we have never properly defined it. The Asean identity narrative should be a self-reminder of who we are, where we came from and where we are heading both as a community and an organization,” ASCC Director Riaz Saehu said.

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