By Theodore Opara
A total of 750 children participated in the just-concluded 14th Edition of Toyota Dream Car Art Contest which held in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Lagos, from February 5 to 12, 2021. The contest produced nine winners, one from Port Harcourt, two from Abuja and six from Lagos, with the children challenging Toyota to produce their dream car in the future.
Toyota Nigeria Limited rewarded the winners with brand new laptops each. Toyota Dream Car Art Contest is an annual CSR initiative of Toyota Motor Corporation Japan to develop the innate artistic talent in children and to cultivate an enduring relationship with them and by extension, their parents.
It is for children within the age of seven and below, eight to 11, and 12 to 15 years. According to Toyota Nigeria, their distributors and dealers alike, have keyed into this global initiative because of its acceptance and impact on children’s psyche and sense of achievement. Giving details of the event, Mr. Kunle Ade Ojo, Managing Director of Toyota Nigeria said in Abuja that 220 children participated, while 222 participated in Port-Harcourt and 308 in Lagos. Three winners emerged from each category in Port-Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos centres respectively, making a total of 27 winners from the three zones.
Following a rigorous assessment of all the 27 shortlisted drawings from the three zones, three finalists from each age category emerged as national winners. One of the winners emerged from Port-Harcourt, two from Abuja, and six from Lagos. All the winning entries were judged based on the originality, creativity (the big idea behind the drawing), environmental friendliness, safety and futuristic concept in their drawings.
To celebrate and reward the budding artists, all nine winners were invited to an award ceremony for the presentation of prizes and certificates at Toyota Nigeria Limited Corporate Headquarters, Lekki, Lagos recently. Mr. Bunmi Onafowokan, G.M Corporate Services who represented the Managing Director, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo, encouraged the winners to continue to showcase their God-given talents and excel at what they do.
He posited that the platform would help to further build the confidence of the promising artists and future leaders in the creative world, promising that Toyota will continue to organise the contest annually as long as it remains relevant to its CSR objectives. In her remarks, Mrs. Bukunola Ogunnusi, Public Relations Manager, Toyota Nigeria, explained that the focus of the contest has gone beyond dream cars, to include general mobility.
She enjoined future participants to stretch their imagination beyond drawing just cars of the future but generate ideas that would aid mobility generally and creatively express the idea on paper. Each winner presented his/her drawing; explaining the concept behind their artworks typified by the guidelines of originality, creativity, environmental friendliness, safety and future relevance.They also urged Toyota to manufacture their dream car in the future.
A winner in the age 12-15 category Miss Tanvita Koushik on behalf of all winners, expressed her gratitude to Toyota (Nigeria) Limited for the opportunity given to them to exhibit their talents, while Mrs. Sein Ochiobi, one of the parents thanked the management of Toyota (Nigeria) Limited for giving the children the opportunity to exhibit their creativity. Mrs. Hana Darwish, a visibly elated mother, said that winning the contest really lifted the spirit of her child and helped in her healing process. She commended Toyota (Nigeria) Limited for this laudable initiative and encouraged them to continue holding the contest on annual basis.
Originally published at Vanguard