Ubuntu (pronounced oo-boon-too) is an African word popularized by Cape Town Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, It is a term for humaneness, for caring, sharing and being in harmony with all of creation.

In addition to ubuntu, the sub-themes of this convention will be Identity/Mission. What is it that makes being an Episcopalian different from being a member of another branch of Christ's church? Once we know who we are (identity), we can address what we are called to do (mission). The Joint Standing Committee on Planning & Arrangements is seeking a logo for the General Convention for ubuntu in a way that illustrates the theme by use of graphics, text and/or artwork.

In his book "No Future Without Forgiveness," Tutu writes: "Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language. When we want to give high praise to someone we say, 'Yu u nobuntu'; 'Hey, so-and-so has ubuntu.' Then you are generous, you are hospitable, you are friendly and caring and compassionate. You share what you have . . . We say, 'A person is a person through other persons.'

"A person with ubuntu," Tutu continues, "is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed."

RULES FOR THE CONTEST
The contest is authorized and sponsored by the Joint Standing Committee on Planning & Arrangements (Bonnie Anderson, Chair).

The judges of the contest will be Mel Ahlborn, president and chief executive officer of the Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts; the Very Rev. Canon Michael Battle, priest-in-charge, Church of Our Saviour, San Gabriel, California; the Rev. Dr. Fran Toy, president of the Episcopal Church's Asisa-America Ministry Council; the Rev. Robert Two Bulls, director of the Diocese of Minnesota's Department of Indian Work.  The judges' decision will be final.

Wade Hampton, Art Director of Digital Communications, will serve as technical advisor.

Multiple submissions are welcome. 

The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2008.

Submissions will be received on line at:

logocontest@episcopalchurch.org,

or by mail at:

Contest/Ubuntu2009,

The General Convention Office,

815 Second Avenue, New York, NY, 10017. 

Entries will be assigned a number code and forwarded anonymously to the judges.

The first prize will be a $5,000 contribution that will be donated in the winner's name to an organization that addresses one or more of the Millennium Development Goals. Two additional prizes will be $500 contributions that will be donated in names of the runners-up to similar organizations. Episcopal Relief and Development is an eligible recipient of the contribution.

The winning and runner up designs will be announced and posted on-line at: http://www.ubuntu2009.org/ on September 1, 2008.

Other terms and conditions for the contest:

• The participant (and his/her parent or guardian, if the participant is a minor) represents that each entry submitted is an original work, has not previously been published or won any award, and that the participant is aware of no conflicting rights in the entry (including, but not limited to, copyright or other intellectual property right). The participant (and his/her parent or guardian, if the participant is a minor) also represents that the entry/entries do not and will not infringe upon the intellectual property rights (e.g. copyright, trademark or patent rights) of any third party.
• Contest entries become the sole property of the Episcopal Church and will not be returned. 
• This contest is void where prohibited and subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws. In the event that any applicable law requires certain formalities to be fulfilled in order to grant intellectual property rights in an entry to the Episcopal Church, each participant (and parent or guardian) agrees to cooperate with the Episcopal Church to achieve fulfillment of such formalities at the Church's request.
• The participant (and his/her parent or guardian, if the participant is a minor) releases, discharges, and agrees to hold harmless the Episcopal Church and its directors, employees, and representatives from all claims, damages, demands, obligations, or losses of any kind related to this contest.
• Submissions from people under 14 years of age may not be submitted online or via email, but may be submitted by regular (surface or air) mail to the mailing address provided.
• Parental consent is required for all submissions from people who have not reached 18 years of age.
• No employees of the DFMS, nor their spouses, partners, or family members can take part in this contest.