Before 1964, the coats of arms of the Netherlands, and later, the Netherlands Antilles were used on Curaçao, as it did not have a coat of arms of its own. As an alternative, a modified version of the seal of the Dutch West India Company (WIC) was adopted in 1795 as the seal of Curaçao.[6] It featured a sailing ship surrounded by the text: Sigillum Curaçao Societate Indie Occidentalis.[6]
[edit]Top 10 of designs selected by the committee of experts (in random order)
On 23 December 2020, ten years after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, the Rhuggenaath cabinet decided that the coat of arms needed to be replaced by a new design, as this was deemed important for nation-building.[4][9] On 4 July 2022, a design competition was launched for a new emblem to replace the coat of arms.[4] Designs could be submitted from 20 July to 19 August 2022, after which they were evaluated by a committee of experts.[10][11] One of the requirements is that the motto must be in Papiamentu.[10]
Citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who were born – or who have at least one parent who was born – in Curaçao (or elsewhere in the Netherlands Antilles and registered as a resident of Curaçao before 2010) could submit a design.[12] Foreign-born citizens who are naturalized in Curaçao could also enter the competition.[12] These rules received some criticism in the media for being discriminative against citizens from the European part of the Kingdom who reside in Curaçao.[12]
A total of 205 designs were submitted to the competition.[5] From 20 to 30 September 2022, the public could vote for their favorite out of ten designs selected by the committee.[11] The winning design was revealed on 10 October 2022 by Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas and Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Sithree van Heydoorn.[2] The designer of the winning emblem was awarded NAƒ15,000 (US$8,300).[5]