CFAO Mobility Kenya has crowned the winners of the 19th Toyota Dream Car Art Contest in a ceremony held at the CFAO Mobility Head Office on Uhuru Highway, Nairobi.
This year’s edition recorded a total of 2153 entries submitted by Kenyan children aged 15 years and below making it the largest edition of the contest in the country’s history.
The contest which challenged children to imagine and draw their dream car of the future attracted participants from schools across Kenya. Entries were judged across three categories by an expert panel with winners receiving prizes for themselves and their schools.
Taking the top prize in Category 1 for children aged 7 years and below was Joyrene Nduta Ngugi whose artwork titled My Happy Rainbow Car impressed the judges with its joyful vision of future mobility.
In Category 2 for children aged 8 to 11 years Shreyasi Mishra claimed first place with The Flying Earth Guardian, a design that wove together environmental themes and futuristic technology.
The oldest category was won by Mel Athiang Bol whose artwork The Golden Egret drew praise from judges for its maturity of concept and striking visual execution.
Speaking at the ceremony CFAO Mobility Kenya Deputy Managing Director Joshua Anya said the record number of entries reflected a growing hunger for creative platforms among Kenya’s young people.
“Two thousand one hundred and fifty three children sat down and chose to imagine a better world. These children are not just drawing cars but telling us what they believe the future should look like and we at CFAO Mobility Kenya are listening,” said Mr. Anya.
Toyota Brand Ambassador Ferdinand Omanyala who presented the special awards said the contest resonated deeply with his own experience of discovering talent at a young age.
“I know what it feels like to find the thing you were born to do. For some of these children art is that thing. Platforms like this one can be the moment that changes everything for a young person. I am proud to be part of it,” said Omanyala.
Alongside the category winners the contest recognized outstanding achievement in several special awards. The Youngest Participant award went to four-year-old Hailey Lovi Njenga for her artwork Rainbow Car. The Waku Doki Award, which honors the most emotive entry went to Raveena Kaur Matharu of Premier Academy for My Floral Eco Car. Premier Academy also took home the School with the Most Entries award.
The Teachers Award for Most Creative Artwork was presented to The Bridge Junior Elementary for the entry Dawn of Her Freedom.
In Category 1 Premier Academy claimed both first and third position with Strathmore School finishing second. Category 2 was won by Arya Vedic Academy with Premier Academy in second and Brookhouse Schools in third. Category 3 was dominated by Brookhouse Schools who took first and third position with The Bridge Junior Elementary finishing second.
Winning schools received dummy cheques as part of the ceremony with financial awards to follow.
The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest is a global initiative by Toyota Motor Corporation inviting children to envision the car of the future through art.
Now in its 19th year in Kenya the contest is one of the most anticipated youth engagement programs in the country. Winning entries from Kenya are entered into the global competition where top finalists compete for international prizes.
