No Logo Chosen for National Respect Campaign After Low Public Enthusiasm

The Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage has decided that no logo will be used for the "National Project to Promote Respect", following a recommendation by the judging panel due to insufficient public enthusiasm. According to the ministry, 22 logos were submitted in the open call to the public, and the five best designs selected by the judges were opened for public voting through the PSM Air application. Voting opened on the 16th of last month and closed on 11 November. The ministry said the decision not to use a logo in the campaign was based on the judges' recommendation that adequate enthusiasm was not received, but added that the designers who submitted logos will be appreciated. Ahmed Azmee Haleem, a member of the judges' panel, said that given the scale of the campaign, the number of logos received was small and none was of the required quality. "In the final stage as well, what we will say is that even from the votes received by opening it to the public, there is no logo of the quality to be used for a matter of this scale in the Maldives, from all of us judges. And looking at the comments we received from the public as well, there is no logo to be placed for a campaign of that scale," Azmee said. Judges' panel member Ali Hussain Manik noted that enthusiasm for the initiative, which carried a prize of MVR 60,000 for the first-placed logo, was low, and said that receiving only 22 logos despite such a large prize was itself an indication of the low enthusiasm previously noted. The National Project to Promote Respect is being carried forward under a decision by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to launch a major national campaign to revive the habit of showing respect, which is being lost among Maldivians. Many Maldivian media outlets are participating in the project, with the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage and Public Service Media (PSM) leading it. A committee of nine members with experience in the field has been formed to run the project.