Students from further education colleges and universities from throughout Scotland are to be invited to design a distinctive badge for the Scottish Parliament in a competition announced today by Sir David Steel.

The Parliament's Presiding Officer said that the badge would be expected to reflect the mood and style of the Parliament and should be able to be used in conjunction with the current corporate identity.

Announcing the competition, which will carry a cash prize of £1,000, Sir David said:

"The Parliament already has a text-based corporate identity produced by Edinburgh-based designers Redpath, and this identity was produced in such a way to allow incorporation of a badge if the Parliament so wished.

"I am particularly keen for the Parliament to have a distinctive badge, or logo, and I was delighted that the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body, which I chair, agreed to the proposal that we hold a competition among Scottish colleges and universities. This is another clear example of the Parliament's determination to open its procedures and work to young people.

"All matriculated students of Scottish institutions of further and higher education will be eligible to take part, and the closing date for entries is November 1. Each institution will be invited to put forward a single entry, which can come from individuals or groups of students.

"We are looking for a design that will be capable of being used with the corporate identity on documents and merchandise. We have sought the advice of the office of the Lord Lyon as the use of heraldic devices on badges is subject to approval by his office.

"The winning design will be used in a number of ways. In particular, there are three entities for which a badge would be required. They are:

* Acts of Parliament

* MSPs

* Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) and Parliamentary staff.

"The badge should be designed to embrace all of these entities by building it up from a set of devices which can be used in different combinations in order to define the separate entities. It is also important that it is capable of small-scale reproduction on pens, tickets etc as well as large-scale banners and signs.

"I believe that our young students will rise to the challenge and provide a badge that the Parliament and the people of Scotland will be proud of - a distinctive image that will be identified as the Parliament's logo wherever it is used. I look forward to chairing the judging panel with my colleagues from the SPCB."