Toyota-Dream-Car

By Daniels Ekugo

Talented Nigerian kids who took part in the 2018 Toyota Dream Car Art contest have challenged Toyota Motor Corporation to translate their drawing to reality by producing their dream car of the future.

In Abuja, 318 children participated, 325 participated in Port-Harcourt and 520 participated in Lagos. Three (3) winners emerged from each category in Port-Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos centers respectively; making a total of twenty-seven (27) winners from the three zones.

Three national finalists from each category making nine (9) winners in all emerged after the rigorous assessment of entries from the three drawing centers. All the winning entries were judged based on the originality, creativity, environmental friendliness, safety and futuristic concept in their drawings.

Winners from the three centres were hosted at Toyota Corporate Headquarters in Lekki, Lagos, during which they gave presentation of their drawings. which explained the concept of their drawings. They urged Toyota to manufacture their dream car in the future while expressing appreciation to Toyota Nigeria for the wonderful opportunity given to them to express their God’s given talents. According to Toyota Nigeria Ltd, the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest is a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of Toyota Motor Corporation Japan to develop the innate artistic talent in children and to cultivate an enduring relationship with them.

Toyota distributors and dealers alike globally have keyed into this initiative because of its acceptance and impact on children’s psyche the world over. The 12th Dream Car Art Contest was held in Nigeria in February, in Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Lagos. Children came from different schools and states to share their concepts about the future of mobility by drawing their dream cars in the contest. The contest comprises of age categories including: Under eight years’ old, eight to 11 years, and 12 to 15 years old.

All the winning entries were judged based on the originality, creativity, environmental friendliness, safety and futuristic concept in their drawings. In attendance were the Head of Marketing Department, Mr. Andrew Ajuyah, Public Relations Manager, Mrs. Bukunola Ogunnusi, Chief Security Officer, Mr Aliu Umar, Managing Director of Black Sea, Mr Stanley Salami and the Managing Director of Freddie Scott Associates Mr Kayode Adeleye.

In a chat after the ceremony, the Managing Director of Toyota (Nigeria) Limited expressed his resolve to continue to support this laudable CSR initiative. He said “Toyota (Nigeria) Limited believes in tapping into the minds of children towards helping them realize their God-given talent and express it positively. He added that the platform will help build the confidence of these budding artists and future leaders in the creative world. We have been doing this for about seven years now and we will continue to organize the contest annually as long as it remains relevant to our CSR objectives”. He encouraged all to begin to practice from now till the contest comes up in 2019 in order to increase their chances of winning in the keenly contested event.

Each winner presented his/her drawing; explaining the concept of their drawings typified the guidelines of originality, creativity, environmental friendliness, safety and future relevance. respectively, they also urged Toyota to manufacture their dream car in the future.

In conclusion, one of the winners Tosin Shike Deborah Ogundeji gave vote of thanks on behalf of the entire winners and expressed gratitude for the occasion and thanked Toyota (Nigeria) Limited for the opportunity given to them to prove their talents. Dr Francis, one of the parents thanked the management of Toyota (Nigeria) Limited for giving the children the opportunity to exhibit their creativity. He opined that the event would leave an indelible and sweet memory in the mind of the children.