An optical display and control element comprises an at least partially transparent display screen, at least one light source for illuminating a rear side of the display screen, and at least one light sensor for detecting a temporal signal of the light scattered on the display screen. The light source is able to produce a time-variable light pattern while illuminating the rear side of the display screen. A control and processing unit is able to evaluate the temporal signal, detected by the light sensor, in combination with the time-variable light pattern and to determine a position of at least one object located on the display screen from this evaluation. The invention further relates to a method of optically determining the position of an object which is located on an at least partially transparent display screen of an optical display and control element.