Young people invited to take part in Aids Conference 2016 logo contest |22 January 2015

Young people aged 10 to 30 years old are being encouraged to take part in a contest to design a logo for the 21st International Aids Conference (Aids 2016) to be held in Durban, South Africa in July next year.

The contest is open to the general public between 10 and 30 years old at the time of the contest deadline which is February 15, 2015.

The contest is only open to single individuals; therefore design/creative agencies cannot enter the contest.

A final decision will be made by the Conference Coordinating Committee and the winner will be notified by the end of March 2015.

The designer of the winning logo will be announced on the Conference Coordinating Committee website www.aids2016.org by the end of March 2015, and he/she will be invited to attend the conference in Durban, South Africa, with an accompanying person.

A formal presentation to recognise the winner will take place at the conference.
Economy flights, attendance fee and accommodation will be paid for both the winner and the accompanying person.

The logo concept should be reflective of the 2016 conference destination, Durban, South Africa and/or Sub-Saharan Africa and/or Africa as a continent.
• It should incorporate the well-known ‘Aids ribbon’;

• It should reflect the conference principles of inclusiveness, participation and gender equality;

• It should be conceptual rather than literal.

The logo should include:
• the abbreviated name of the conference “Aids 2016”;
• the words “21st  International Aids Conference”;

• and “Durban, South Africa” as well as the date (July 17-22, 2016).

The logo should in no way include elements of the International Aids Society or any of the local or international partner logos. In addition, it should not be visually similar to previous conference logos.

The logo concept should work well on white and coloured backgrounds and be easily adaptable for use on the website and in social media platforms, as well as for animation purposes. For that reason, we suggest the logo should work in a squared box (e.g., the Facebook or Twitter picture box), in both a portrait and landscape format and that should have a maximum of two colours.

Contestants may submit more than one design with a maximum of three designs per person.
Designs should be submitted electronically in a .jpeg or PDF format to the Aids 2016 Communications Team at logo_competition@aids2016.org by 12h00 (Central European Time) February 15, 2015.

All designs submitted should include the following in writing:

• The reasons for the selection of logo elements, including an explanation of how the logo is related to Durban, South Africa AND/OR Sub-Saharan Africa AND/OR Africa as a continent and to the conference principles;

• A brief resume on the person submitting the logo, including age.
Aids 2016 is expected to convene close to 20,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries, including 1,000 journalists. The biennial International Aids Conference is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policymakers, people living with HIV and others committed to ending the epidemic.

Aids 2016 will also focus on the Africa region which has the largest geographic area and population in the world, dramatically varying levels of wealth, and mix of different cultures. Sub-Saharan Africa has the most serious HIV/Aids epidemic in the world. In 2013, roughly 25 million people were living with HIV in the region, accounting for almost 70% of the global total. Part of the conference is the global village and youth programme aimed at strengthening the participation of affected communities and young people at Aids 2016.