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Generation Connect Global E-waste Iconathon

Winner!

We are so excited to present our winning icon, Lemnis, by Shergaun Roserie. As part of the E-waste Iconathon journey, we have engaged with many inspiring and dedicated young people that are committed to a world that is more circular and sustainable.

Our three finalists worked on their original sketch with a designer to prepare their final designs. The finalists attended the Generation Connect Global Youth Summit where they participated in exciting sessions and shared their icons with their peers. The winning icon was announced in the closing ceremony.

Get to know our finalists better and the motivations for their designs below!

(The images below contain the original sketch, the black and white icon, and a colored version)

Meet the three finalists and their final designs

We are very excited to announce our three finalists for the Generation Connect Global E-waste Iconathon. The icons were selected amongst many interesting and exciting submissions after two rounds of judging. The judging panel consisted of representatives from Producer Responsibility Organizations, International Organization, Multi Stakeholder Platforms with private, public sector and academia representatives and a Multilateral Environmental Agreement.

The winner was selected by online vote during the Youth Summit. The winner , Lemnis, by Shergaun Roserie was announced at the closing ceremony of the Youth Summit.

Electric Bud by Nguyễn Thảo

Xin chao! My name is Thao, I come from Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam and I am currently a student in International Management and Sustainability in Germany. I love nature, and especially enjoy finding different plants and animals in places that I have visited. As a young person with a great interest, I hope to dedicate my work to the sustainable development of our economy and social life that preserve and benefit the natural environment we live in.

I reflect my inspiration taken from nature's self-renewal in this icon. It depicts an electric plug "flower", with the electrical cord twisted to the shape of a flower stem and two leaves. The leaves together create the symbol of infinity, inspired from the idea of collecting e-waste as the first step to recycle such material, bringing it into the technical cycle of a circular economy in which materials are kept in use over becoming waste.

Lemnis by Shergaun Roserie

Hi, My name is Shergaun Roserie and I am a rising senior mechanical engineering major at Howard University, hailing from the island of Saint Lucia. I currently maintain an active membership in a number of student organizations, and am a youth envoy of the International Telecommunication Union Generation Connect America's Youth Group. I have taken a vested interest in empowering youth in the use of digital technologies and the diversification of the Caribbean economy through the operations of my company Orbtronics. In my efforts to promote youth capacity development, I have collaborated with Orbtronics to coordinate numerous STEM based training programs alongside governmental and public organizations.

I come from a small village in St Lucia where the landscape is filled with farmlands and tropical vegetation. This expresses itself in my design in the way that the leaves on the bottom are enveloping the existing e-waste, which also expresses the idea of our natural environment reclaiming the land over the e-waste that has built up. The arrow shaped leaf at the top of the icon represents the e-waste which is reclaimed being recycled or renewed into something new. The arrow also gives the impression of the e-waste being reusable as well.

From E-waste to a green E-cycle by Rocio Bello

Hola! My name is Rocio. I am a young student from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Currently studying social sciences at University Torcuato Di Tella. I am passionate about the linkage between art and social impact, so this opportunity to create and share an icon that highlights the importance of the take-back and electronic waste collections is really exciting for me.

My main motivation when creating the icon was to emphasize the significance of human action: the hand reflects the importance of human commitment when taking the electronic waste and introducing it into a cycle where it can be reintegrated into our societies and have a longer life in them. This last idea is represented with the black-to-white arrow transition, from being e-waste it becomes an element that can be reintegrated, returning to our hands. From a chip to a computer, every piece in the hands of committed people will lead to a greener future.

Voting is now open online, choose your favorite icon!

Generation Connect Global E-waste Iconathon (CLOSED)

Registration closed.

The Generation Connect Global E-waste Iconathon: What is it?

ITU is pleased to announce the first Generation Connect Global E-waste Iconathon. The E-waste Iconathon is an icon design contest that aims to raise awareness about the global e-waste issue and leverage the participation of youth globally. Young people of ages 18-29 are invited to participate and design a universal icon that signifies the take-back and collection of e-waste for recycling purposes. The contest is in line with the Generation Connect mission to engage youth and encourage their participation as equal partners alongside the leaders of today's digital change, empowering young people with the skills and opportunities to advance their vision of a connected future.

What is E-waste

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or e-waste refers to items of all types of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts that have been discarded by the owner as waste without the intention of re-use (StEP Initaitive, 2014). E-waste is one of the most complex waste streams in the world. According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2020, the world generated 53.6 Mt of e-waste in 2019, only 9.3 Mt (17 per cent) of which was recorded as being collected and recycled. E-waste contains valuable materials, as well as hazardous toxins, which make the efficient material recovery and safe recycling of e-waste extremely important for economic value as well as environmental and human health. The discrepancy in the amount of e-waste produced and the amount of e-waste that is properly recycled reflects an urgent need for all stakeholders including the youth to address this issue. Check out the ITU 'Internet Waste' Story Map for more information.

Iconathon guidelines

What will the winning icon do?

Consumers willing to dispose of their e-waste through the proper channels often find it difficult to identify where they can do so. The winning icon aims to address this problem by establishing a globally recognizable icon that signifies the take-back or collection of e-waste for recycling purposes. This icon can be used by different actors taking back and collecting e-waste to indicate that consumers can drop off their e-waste at specified locations. The winning icon will be available without restrictions for use by any organization or individual in the public domain.

Is there a prize?

Other than the satisfaction of participating in a sustainable cause, the top 3 finalists of the Generation Connect Global E-waste Iconathon will get the chance to attend the ITU Generation Connect Global Youth Summit – “Youth Summit", scheduled to take place from 2 to 4 June 2022, in Kigali, Rwanda. The trip will be fully sponsored depending on the evolving situation of the Coronavirus pandemic (more details in the Terms & Conditions). After the selection by a judge panel and the announcement of the winning icons, the top 3 finalists will work with a professional designer to further refine the icons to be presented at the Summit. The winner will be chosen by vote at the E-waste Iconathon event at the summit (more details to come closer to the event).

The ITU Generation Connect Global Youth Summit precedes the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC). The Youth Summit will build meaningful youth engagement and collaboration to bring the voices of young people into the following WTDC discussions. The Youth Summit is part of ITU's Youth Strategy to improve and impact the lives of young people and empower them as key stakeholders in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Generation Connect Global E-waste Iconathon helps advance the Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030), more specifically to Sustainable Development Goal 12, by which reaffirming the role of youth in sustainable consumption and production.

For more information on eligibility criteria, submission instructions, icon design guidelines and evaluation criteria, please refer to the Competition Entry Guidelines.

What are the criteria for eligibility?

Youth of ages 18-29 can participate in the competition. To be eligible, the participant should be 18 to 29 years old when they register to the competition.
Participants or members of their family (up to the third degree) should not be employed by the International Telecommunications Union, the Secretariats of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, StEP Initiative, or the WEEE Forum .

Icon Submission Steps:

The Generation Connect Global E-waste Iconathon was launched on 14 October 2021, International E-waste Day
Using the online form, participants must register, provide their email address and agree to the Terms & Conditions.
Registered participants will receive an email from ITU confirming their registration.
The icon must be submitted to ITU by replying to the registration confirmation email and attaching the scanned/photographed icon.
The deadline to submit the icon design by email was 18 March 2022, 23:59 CET.

How should the icon be designed?

Participants must design an icon that can be universally used to signify the take-back and collection of e-waste.

Icon submissions must be made by only one person (participant).
Each participant must submit only one icon.
Outsourcing of the icon design to external agencies or other individuals is not accepted. The icon submitted must be designed by the individual participant who is submitting the icon.
Icons must be sketched by hand. For submission, the icons must be either scanned or a photograph must be taken of the icon.
There must be no text on the icon to ensure language barriers are not encountered in the interpretation of the icon.
The use of colour is permitted, but simplicity is encouraged. Black and white submissions are accepted.

How is the icon evaluated?

The icons will be judged on the following criteria:

Universality - Is the icon sensitive to all genders, age groups, regional and multicultural contexts?
Originality - Does the idea portray creative thinking and originality in concept and design (regardless of inspiration from other sources)?
Effectiveness of the icon - Is the design visually appealing, appropriate, and recognizable as a universal icon for e-waste take-back and collection?

The organization reserves the right to disqualify participants in the case of late submissions, or the infringement of third party (exhaustive list in the Terms & Conditions)

For questions contact ITU at: GenerationConnect@itu.int