Toyota believes when you encourage kids to turn loose their imaginations, the results can be astounding.
If you get them to think about what dream cars should look like and ask them to put those dreams in art form, their drawings can be inspiring.
That, says Toyota, is the essence of the Toyota Dream Car art contest which has been running for four years now. It’s interesting that all the winners came from either B.C. or Ontario.
This year’s collection of artwork has again demonstrated how Canada’s young people have visions of a future with mobility as a catalyst to improve the lives of individuals and society in environmental, educational or humanitarian terms, say the contest judges.
“I am inspired by our children’s creativity, artistic talent, and remarkable ability to envision such exciting, innovative and profound ideas for the future of our industry,” says Larry Hutchinson, president and CEO of Toyota Canada Inc.
The challenge of narrowing down all the entries to just nine winners was assigned to Hutchinson and his fellow judges, including Ryan and Alexandria Durrell, a prominent husband-and-wife blogging team who focus on parenting, while Ryan is also a prolific auto blogger, Jill Amery, who runs the “Urban Mommies” blog; and Jaimie Damak, who writes the widely-followed Quebec mommy blog “Je suis une maman.”
“This is my second year judging and once again, I’m blown away by each of the entries,” says Damak. “So much talent, so many ideas to make this world a better place. Excited to see what the future holds!”
“The ingenuity and creativity of the kids submitting ideas was mind-boggling,” says Amery. “Seeing ideas of social responsibility and respect for the planet come to life through innovations applied by these kids to their dream vehicles was truly inspiring.”
“We were so honoured to be part of this inspiring contest,” the Durrells say. “The thought and talent that went into each entry was impressive, and it was a tough job to rate the submissions. Toyota’s contest truly brings out the best in youth, encouraging them to find inspiration in the future and embrace their imaginations.”
With all the artwork judged on originality, creativity and relevance to the “dream car” theme, this year’s Canadian nine winners (three children for each of three age categories) include:
Under 8 years: Food Saver (Aidan, 6, Ontario), The Planting & Cleaning Air Car (Nancy, 7, Ontario), Melody’s Bunny School Car (Melody,7, B.C.).
8-11 years:The Suitcase Car (Ryan, 8, B.C.), Plastic Reducer (Sherry, age 11 B.C.), Save the Lives (Sara, age 10, Ontario).
12-15 years:Toyota Mobile Library (Noelle, age 13, B.C.), Food Bank Car (Ruolin, age 13, B.C.), Traveling Oasis (Zhiyu, age 13, B.C.)
All nine winners will receive a 3D printing pen and each will represent Canada in Toyota’s global competition, where the top 30 entries from around the world will be invited to participate in an awards ceremony in Japan in August.
Over the past four years, five Canadian entries have been chosen as global finalists, including two who won bronze medals last year. To put that achievement in context, more than 855,000 entries from more than 80 countries and regions around the world were received in 2016.