The Division of Youth Affairs has a new logo and slogan after 25 years of existence. The new slogan is Bridging Brighter Paths.
As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, a logo and slogan competition was held with the aim to modernise, re-energise and reflect the mission of the Division going forward as it seeks to address and mitigate challenges facing the island’s youth.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Dwight Sutherland, commended the winner of the competition, 20-year-old Benjamin Springer, for his innovative and creative design.
“I believe once given the opportunity that young people have the energy and the creativity to solve most of our problems and based on what I’ve seen, our future is in good hands,” he noted.
Minister Sutherland stated that “our appearance represents who we are”, and the Ministry’s new thrust at addressing issues faced by the youth, which will see them playing a critical role in identifying and helping to create policies and programmes to assist their development, is reflected in the new logo and slogan.
Out of the 135 entries submitted, 53 were selected, and Benjamin, an Associate Degree in Visual Arts student at the Barbados Community College, received a $2,000 cheque for his winning submission.
He said his logo depicted “young people from all walks of life rallying around one bright and shiny goal that bridges connections between them”.
Based on the Division of Youth Affairs mission statement, which speaks to developing confident, productive individuals through the involvement of productive activities, Benjamin made it his mission to illustrate the logo as “colourful young individuals encircling a light which in the end forms a light bulb”.
He said: “The small icon of people who are gathering around the light bulb symbolises the Division’s inclusivity and shows that no matter what the class, gender or race we are a part of, the Division will be there to make your bridge a brighter path.”
Benjamin explained that the slogan Bridging Brighter Paths is expected to help young individuals know that “no matter what happens, the Division of Youth Affairs will rigorously be working on the task of making your future a bright and shiny reality”.