IJAN discusses Name and Logo
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
What meanings might we want to convey
with our symbolic name? Change or challenge; Power; Steadfastness (we
are not going to go away); Illumination (shining a light on something);
Renewal (a rain after a drought); Awakening; Unity; Truth-telling (but
avoiding "prophesy"); Interconnection; Upheaval. All of these
might be illustrated with symbols that express the concept.
For example, what might capture the idea of "change" or "transformation"? There could be words that deal with that in weather, alchemy, cooking, conflict, travel, philosophy, astronomy, agriculture... A symbolic name might stem from a natural metaphor. For example, the wind or the tide both express ideas of change of direction, and they have a feel of movement.
It is OK if the word is specific to
a particular field. It is our use of it that gives it its broader meaning.
There may be an advantage to picking a name in one language that can
be used everywhere in the same language. In this way the name representing
the network doesn’t change from place to place.
We hope you will join us in a collective
brainstorm and discussion towards finding this symbol.
Questions to guide our search:
- What do we want our name to suggest to people?
- What could a symbolic name be of an anti-imperialist, anti-Zionist network of Jews coming from a huge diversity of political histories, cultural reference points, positions within this particular struggle, and relationships to Judaism and Jewish identity?
- Can this name function not just as a point of common identity or shared struggle, but also as a counter-hegemonic vision within itself?
- Is there a historical event or person(s) that could carry such meaning?
- Or is there a more conceptual symbol that might do so?
- If we have to choose, should we pick a name that carries deep meaning for many but that some might really dislike, or one that everyone feels okay about but no one loves?
- Mama 5 ( based on Hagar, the fifth mother in Genesis)
- Diaspora Uprising
- Hagar Uprising
- Exodus
What ideas do you have for a symbolic name or logo?