Towards a Symbol for the World Campaign for The Biosphere

Abstract

Criteria in selecting a symbol for The World Campaign for The Biosphere are analyzed around fourteen questions posed to the World Council For The Biosphere (WCB) and the International Society For Environmental Education (ISEE). To be truly supranational the symbol must be free from words and focused on mind and The Biosphere—the key end-points in the circular causal chain of ‘education for ecologically sustainable development’. As the target audience is external to WCB-ISEE, the symbol should be open to use by other organizations, and perhaps have a designated place for their identification. To the extent that the symbol poses a moral question it should be spiritual, emotive, and applicable to instances of overexploitation and excessive waste. Technology should not be automatically excluded, nor should the focus be restricted to organizations (versus people) or specific age-groups.The essential message to be communicated is wholeness through feedback. Suitable geometric forms include irregular lines ending where they begin, circles, spheres, and (in terms of computer imagery) pulsating objects. Existing symbols with appropriate traditions to build on include: the yin-yang symbol of the Tao; the Atlas symbol of person-planet; individual life-forms such as a tree; and the glory—the shadow of a human head surrounded by concentric, rainbow-coloured circles.