This week saw the official launch and installation of Parliament’s new emblem, a design created by the people as a cornerstone for South Africa’s new democracy.
”A new emblem was an important step in establishing an identity for Parliament, one that represents its values, vision and mission,” Parliament said in a statement.
Launched on Tuesday, the new design contains four key design elements, all symbolic of what Parliament stands for: ”our South Africa, our Parliament, our people and our Constitution”.
In the design, these elements are presented as: the sun, which heals the divisions of the past and builds a free, united and democratic South Africa; a drum and Protea flower, which calls on the sectors of Parliament to ensure a ”government by the people”; Protea leaves, representing the people who build the foundation to an open and democratic society; and ”the book”, or Constitution, the supreme law of the country, which lays the foundation for this kind of society.
According to the statement, ”The philosophy had to convey that Parliament is a people’s Parliament that acts as my voice ensuring government by the people under the Constitution.
”It is where my elected representatives assemble to consider national and provincial issues that affect me. Parliament is responsive to my needs and is driven by the ideals of improving my quality of life. It upholds my values of democracy, social justice and fundamental human rights,” it said.
The new emblem replaced its predecessor, which was installed in 1964 and showed a shield, the four provinces of the old South Africa and the national coat of arms.
Conceptualised by twenty designers from all over South Africa, the new emblem was a conscious decision by Parliament to actively include the public in this process.
”Parliament is the voice of the people. Thus the search for a new emblem was entrusted to the very people it represents — the public,” Parliament said.
”A Parliament for the people is part of its mission statement and I think it’s so great that they acted out on this democratic principle. They are saying, ‘We do include you, you do count’,” Penny Harris, one of the designers, said.
Thirty-year-old Harris, a graphic designer from Johannesburg, got involved with the project after she saw an advert for design submissions in a newspaper last year. She was one of 2 000 people who submitted designs, and was lucky enough to qualify as one of the finalists.
Along with Harris, there were four other designers from Gauteng, four from the Western Cape, three from KwaZulu-Natal, three from Mpumalanga, two from the North West, two from Limpopo and one from the Free State.
”It was amazing! It was people from all over and we just came together — some were architects, some were artists, some had no training,” Harris said.
Andrew Paseka Moleka (21), a carpenter from North West, was one of the designers without any formal training. He also read about the project in the newspapers. ”The design for a new emblem was a goal I set for myself to achieve … My dream is to become a top African designer,” he said.
After the twenty finalists were chosen, they were sent to Cape Town for a week-long design workshop in which they interacted with other designers, the heraldry and Parliament itself.
”In Cape Town, we had lectures from other designers, and did research so we knew what was expected … But we used our concepts and ideas, we drew [the emblem] and painted it — some of us worked on it on computer,” Harris said.
”We needed to do our research. We had to create something that was people-centred, African and that breaks away from our past,” she said. ”And the designs we came up with were all very similar, actually.”
”We are extremely pleased and proud of the work that the final twenty artists produced,” said Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, at the official launch.
”When we [the presiding officers and political steering committee] met with them at the design workshop, we knew that we were dealing with a group of very special South Africans, who not only took pride in their craft, but also in their country,” Mahlangu-Nkabinde said.
The designers developed four separate emblems, which they then presented to Parliament in October last year. After discussing the designs, a few elements were merged and swapped around, and the final emblem was created.
”A new emblem that is representative of Parliament’s role in society would inspire members and officials to uphold its values and strive for the ideals set out in our Constitution. The new emblem would also serve to unite and educate the public as to the role of Parliament in their everyday lives,” Parliament’s statement said.