Toyota launches Dream Art Contest

Nine kids from Canada were globally recognized for inventing vehicles to ‘make the world a better place’ from the Toyota Dream Art Contest hosted by Toyota.

“Over the years, the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest has evolved from an art competition to an opportunity for children to bring forward their world-changing ideas,” said Larry Hutchinson, President and CEO, Toyota Canada and one of this year’s Canadian judges. “I’m truly impressed by their ideas, from making our planet more sustainable, to fighting virus and bacteria, to making the world more inclusive through physical accessibility.”

Hundreds of young Canadians shared their inspirational designs for a ‘dream car’ to help ‘make the world a better place’, and three finalists were chosen in each category age-range category.

A panel of Canadian judges was tasked with assessing hundreds of entries from kids across Canada. In addition to Hutchinson, this year’s Canadian judges included:

• Jennifer Flanagan, CEO, Actua
• Petrina Gentile, Automotive Journalist, children’s book Author and Publisher
• Buzz Bishop, Journalist, Broadcaster and Blogger, CyberBuzz Media
• Caitlin Keeley, Executive Creative Director, Dentsu McGarryBowen

Yuffie Chen (age 6, Vancouver, BC). Yuffie’s “weather car” forecasts the weather (“sunshine, snow, rain, wind, rainbows or lightning”), and flies around the world to protect it from global warming. The “weather car” delivers snow to the Arctic to rescue polar bears and rain to the Amazon to extinguish forest fires.

Lindsay Qui Ru Lin (age 8, Vancouver, BC). Lindsay’s “back to the ecology” is a turtle-shaped underwater vehicle that offers refuge and fresh water to fish, mammals and other marine wildlife. The “back to ecology” vehicle also helps restore oceans by removing garbage from waters and giving animals a pollution-free home.

Nathalie Dai (age 14, Vancouver, BC). Nathalie’s entry – “Sportecc” – stands for “sport, electric charging car”. “Sportecc” is powered by human exercise, “a renewable energy source”, and motivates people to live a healthier lifestyle.

“I am so inspired by these young artists and inventors,” said Flanagan. “They put an incredible amount of thought, creativity, heart and talent into their visions of what their ‘dream car of the future’ will look like. It was amazing to see their imaginations interpret how mobility can help solve our most pressing global challenges and create a sustainable future.