The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

STUDENTS throughout The Bahamas have the chance to win some $850 and other prizes by entering a competition to create a logo for the Consumer Protection Commission.

In conjunction with the Ministry of Education, the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) officially launched its Creative Minds Logo Competition at a press conference yesterday, for students ages 12-17.

The competition will run from August 15 to September 20. The prize for first place is $500 and other prizes, the second-place prize is $250 and other prizes and third place will receive $100 and other prizes.

The purpose of the competition is to engage young people in knowing what the CPC does while also revamping the department’s logo.

Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin said the competition would give students the chance to be stimulated artistically and educate them from a young age on what their rights are as a consumer.

“First of all, it gives our young people an opportunity to compete artistically and it will stimulate a great burst of competitive artwork across our high schools nationwide, which will be able to capture the messaging that the department requires to get the word out.

“Secondly, it will help to educate our young people on the fact that they do have rights as consumers, and that we all do. There are standards that are in play in our country.

She added: “The legislative agenda does anticipate new legislation on this issue, which will be a paradigm shift in this nation, which will protect consumers at every level, in terms of a whole array of transactions and also as it relates to standards. So this is a very critical, equalising paradigm that we are anticipating with the new legislation.

“We are appreciative that you have included in the embrace, our young people, so that they can be activated into this concept that as consumers, out there in the marketplace. There are certain standards or rights that exist that they are able to vitiate through the department or elsewhere.

“So, I think this is a very important intervention and represents a sort of deepening of the civilisation of our nation, in terms of the fact that someone who goes in a store and spends money, that they’re able to get redress and not find themselves at a loss in the deep blue sea and with no transparency in the matter,” she said.

Sharmie Farrington, executive director of the Consumer Protection Commission, said the department partnered with the Ministry of Education in order to be able to engage with students both in New Providence and the family islands, both now and on future projects.

“We really want to be a blessing to young students,” Ms Farrington said. “We want to encourage them to be creative in designing a new logo for the CPC.

“I thought that we should redesign our logo to ensure that the consumer is properly represented, so that when people are looking at our logo, they can immediately know that we are about consumer rights.

“So we want to engage our young people, we think they are creative, we think they are innovative, we think they are very well versed with technology.

“So we’re requiring them to do some research on the Consumer Protection Act, so that they in turn will be educated about what it is that we do,” she said.

Students are able to submit entries for the competition to the CPC office located on Tonique Williams-Darling Highway (west). More details and other criteria for the competition can also be found at www.cpcbahamas.gov.bs. The CPC also has 24-hour hotline to serve consumers at 242-357-7898.