An awards ceremony to celebrate the winner of the widely contested European Organic Logo Competition was held on Monday in Place St Catherine, Brussels. The event marked the end of the successful project and the beginning of a new challenge – the pan-European promotional campaign for the new label which came into force on July 1 and is already visible on some organic products across the 27 EU member states.
The EU Organic Logo Competition was open to art and design students throughout Europe. Almost 3,500 logo design entries were submitted and were judged by an internationally renowned panel of experts.
The best three logos were uploaded on the competition website www.ec.europa.eu/organic-logo and subject to an online vote which concluded on January 31.
With an audience of over 500 participants, the runner up and third place finalist were recognised for their successful contributions and European Commissioner for Agriculture, Dacian Ciolo, rewarded the first prize winner, design student Dušan Milenkovi, for his outstanding creative contribution and reiterated the benefits of the new logo.
“The fresh EU organic logo has already raised the profile of organic agriculture in Europe. It will benefit organic stakeholders and consumers by fostering the organic farming sector and enhancing consumer protection,” said the Commissioner in his speech following the award ceremony. Mr Ciolo also thanked every participant in the design competition for their creative efforts. The jury of the organic logo design contest, experts from the field of organic farming and production and internationally renowned design professionals, were also present at the event and demonstrated the distinctive characteristics of the winning entry to the audience – its simplicity, and soft design that adds a congenial “green European element” to the private, regional or national logos.
A pan-European promotional campaign will begin as part of the communication objectives of DG Agriculture and Rural Development. Its aims are to increase the recognition of the logo and to inform both the stakeholders and consumers about the benefits of the new logo: they can be confident that products bearing the “euro-leaf” comply with the rules of the official control scheme. Consumers can rest assured that 95 per cent of the product’s ingredients of agricultural origin have been organically produced and that the product has come directly from the producer or preparer in a sealed package.