November 9, 2018/CBN
Background
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), established in 1975, seeks to promote the integration of the region. Given the role of the single currency in the acceleration of economic integration, the idea of creating an ECOWAS single currency was put forward in Conakry in 1983 (Decision A/DEC/6 /5/83) and the ECOWAS Monetary Cooperation Programme (EMCP) was adopted on 9 July 1987 (A/DEC.2/7/87).
In 1993, the Revised Treaty committed Member States (Art 55) to complete within five (5) years following the creation of a Custom Union, the establishment of an economic and monetary union through
the total elimination of all obstacles to the free movement of people, goods, capital and services and the right of entry, residence and establishment, and
harmonization of monetary, financial and fiscal policies, the setting up of a West African monetary union, through the establishment of a single regional Central Bank and the creation of a single West African currency”.
As part of implementation of the EMCP, a road map was adopted in May 2009 with the aim of creating the ECOWAS single currency in 2020.
Given the delay experienced in the road map implementation, the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in 2013 set up the Presidential Task Force on ECOWAS single currency programme, to oversee the process of creating the single currency within the stated deadline. At the end of its 4″ meeting which took place in Niamey on 24 October 2017, the Presidential Task Force directed the Ministerial Committee to convene a meeting within three months, in order to submit a new road map to be considered at the 5″ meeting of the Task Force to be held in Accra in February 2018.
In carrying out the directive, the road map for the ECOWAS single currency programme was revised and adopted in Accra on 21 February 2018. It comprises ten (10) programmes to be implemented by 2020. One of the planned activities under these programmes is selection of the name of the ECOWAS single currency.
At its 53 session held in Lomé on 31 July, 2018, the Authority of Heads of State and Government “instructed ECOWAS Commission, in collaboration with West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) and Central Banks in the Community, to submit to its next session, proposals for the name of the future common currency.”
In the implementation of this directive, the ECOWAS Commission will organise an regional competition in order to receive proposals for the name and logo of the ECOWAS single currency.
General Objective
The general objective of the competition is to receive proposals on the name and visual design of the future ECOWAS currency.
Specific Objectives
The specific objectives of the competition are:
selection of the three best proposals for the name of the future ECOWAS currency and
selection of the three best proposals for the logo of the ECOWAS currency.
EXPECTED OUTCOME The expected outcome from the competition is as follows:
the three best proposals for the name of the ECOWAS single currency are selected,
the three best proposals for the ECOWAS single currency logo are selected.
Scope Of Work And Regulations
Article 1 Objective
The ECOWAS Commission and WAMA shall launch a public call for proposals for the name and logo of the ECOWAS single currency.
Article 2 Conditions for participation in the competition
The competition shall be open to:
all citizens of ECOWAS Member States regardless of their place of residence and
legal persons established in an ECOWAS Member State in line with its laws.
Participation in the competition shall be free of charge and automatically implies full acceptance of these regulations in its entirety. Each competitor may submit only one proposal for the Name of the currency and / or the Logo of the currency. Each participant shall confirm that the proposal is his/her personal and exclusive work and that all resources and data used in the creation of the proposal do not and will never constitute an infringement of moral or, intellectual property rights or the rights of a third person or entity.
Article 3 Deadline
The deadline for the receipt of all proposals shall be Tuesday 20 November 2018 by 5pm, Abuja time (GMT+1).
Article 4 Submission of Proposals
Each proposal comprising one original, five copies and electronic version on USB flash drive shall be submitted in a sealed envelope and marked “Proposal on ECOWAS single currency name and logo. To be opened only by the Procurement Committee’. Submissions shall be received at the following address no later than 20 November 2018, Spm local time (GMT+1): ECOWAS Commission, 101 Yakubu Gowon Crescent, Asokoro District, P.M.B 401 Abuja, Nigeria.
Article 5 Competitor Identity
Each competitor shall indicate in a forwarding email, the following information:
Surname and first name
Telephone number
Email address
Country of origin
Document(s) of proof of citizenship of an ECOWAS Member State Residential address.
Article 6 Specifications for Single Currency Name
Proposals for the name of the ECOWAS single currency shall meet the following requirements:
It shall not be based on the name of a person, ethnic group or contain expressions directly linked with a religion, country or national institution;
It shall reflect the values of Community unity and solidarity, as well as the vision of ECOWAS founding fathers;
iii. It shall reflect the shared cultural and historical value of ECOWAS
Article 7 Specifications for Single Currency Logo
Proposals for the logo of the ECOWAS single currency shall meet the following requirements:
It shall symbolise unity and the shared cultural and historical values of ECOWAS, It shall reflect the people’s aspirations contained in the ECOWAS Vision 2020, described as follows: to create a borderless region where people have the capacity to access and harness its enormous resources through the creation of opportunities in a viable environment. An integrated region in which people enjoy freedom of movement, have access to quality education and health, engage in economic activities and live in dignity amid peace and security. A region governed in accordance with the principles of democracy, rule of law and good governance.
It shall not be confused with or have a graphic link with existing logos, symbols and national emblems or religious images or symbols.
It shall comply with the technical specifications below:
logo to be presented on A4 paper (21cm x 29.7cm) (include the colour codes used),
another A4 sheet to be attached (21cm x 29.7cm) to the logo sheet, containing a brief description, in one of the three Community languages, of the significance of the logo (choice of colours, meaning of different elements, link to the competition),
nothing else (name of competitor) shall be written on the two sheets of paper mentioned above failing which the proposal may be refused,
ECOWAS Commission shall become the owner of all proposals submitted in the competition. In this regard, it may make some changes to the selected work, in light of the technological requirements in scanning it.
Article 8 Selection Criteria
The selection criteria for proposals on the name and logo of the ECOWAS single currency are as follows:
understanding of the chief purpose of the ECOWAS single currency: a political, economical and social instrument of historic and geographic solidarity, regional integration and integration of people sharing common origin, values and culture;
compliance with specifications;
a separate document containing the surname, first name, postal and electronic addresses, telephone number, title and brief description (significance) of the proposal in English, French or Portuguese.
Article 9 Scoring for the ECOWAS Single Currency Name
The final scoring grid of the competition for the name of the ECOWAS single currency shall be expressed on a scale of zero (0) to hundred (100) points and shall be determined as follows:
symbolisation of the value of ECOWAS (40%):
consistency of the name across the three official Community languages (15%);
ease of pronunciation (20%);
simplicity and originality (25%);
The winning entry for the ECOWAS single currency name competition shall be the proposal with the highest score.
Article 10 Scoring for the ECOWAS Single Currency Logo
The final scoring grid of the competition for the ECOWAS single currency logo shall be expressed on a scale of zero (0) to hundred (100) points and shall be determined as follows:
a) best message on the thematic content of the ECOWAS single currency (30%);
b) simplicity and originality (20%);
c) best artistic expression (20%);
d) best presentation of graphic design (15%); and
e) highest visual impact (15%).
The winning entry shall be the proposal with the highest scores.
Article 11 —— Prize
Prizes for the three best proposals for the single currency name shall be awarded as follows:
1° prize: USD 10,000
– 2″? prize: USD 8,000
– 3° prize: USD 5,000
Prizes for the three best proposals for the single currency logo shall be awarded as follows:
1% prize: USD 10,000
2″ prize: USD 8,000
3″ prize: USD 5,000
Article 12 Jury
The jury for the competition on selection of the Name and Logo of the future ECOWAS single currency shall comprise eleven eminent persons from West Africa who are experts in economics, history, anthropology, sociology, political science and law. The jury should be constituted in such manner as to be representative, to the extent possible, of the Member States.
ECOWAS reserves the right to choose another name and / or logo if the results of this competition are adjudged unsatisfactory.
Article 13. Copyright
The participant shall accept that the copyright of all winning proposals in this competition shall be the exclusive and free property of ECOWAS Commission.
In participating in the competition, the competitor shall authorise the publication of his/her logo, without claiming financial compensation, for all operations related to the use of the proposal, namely: dissemination, reproduction, display and publication for commercial purposes.
Article 14 Disputes and claims
Any dispute or claim shall be made solely in writing and sent to the President of the ECOWAS Commission, indicating the specific date of participation in the competition, the full details of the participant and exact reasons for the dispute.
The deadline for the submission of all disputes and claims shall be within a maximum period of week following the announcement of the results.
Article 15 — ‘-Final provisions
Any contentious interpretation of these competition regulations and any unforeseen cases shall be decided at the discretion of the ECOWAS Commission.
