Popular Participation in the Provision of Higher Education and Restoration of Historical Heritage: The Case of the University of Botswana Logo, 1976-2014

In the first decade of the twenty-first century the University of Botswana (UB) branded itself among other things by changing its original and historical logo in response to severe competition for students. The logo had been made in 1983 by members of public and reflected sacrifices the population had made through contributions of cows for construction of the university in 1976. The new logo, which UB introduced in 2008, had features of the old one but in abstract form. However, this elicited strong disapproval in some quarters as people demanded restoration of the original logo which the university did in mid-2014. This paper argues that engaging members of public as opposed to foreign professional consultants in the conceptualisation of a symbol for a public institution seems to have significantly contributed to national pride and a sense of public ownership of the symbol. Change to the symbol for corporate survival was perceived as desecration of national historical heritage and was resisted.