What if cars could break down language barriers or generate positive attitudes or rescue people when disasters hit? Most adults would dismiss such notions as wishful thinking but sometimes it pays to think with the boundless imagination of a child. After all, it’s not so long ago that a car fuelled by water or a plane powered by the sun were considered science fiction. Who knows when the gap between fantasy and reality could be bridged?

Since 2004, Toyota Motor Corporation has taken the initiative to give children from around the world to put their creativity and imagination to work in building their dream cars. The results range from impressively practical to downright unusual but most importantly they all show abundant imagination and they are all unique. Toyota Dream Car Art Contest invites children from all corners of the globe to share ideas about the future of mobility by drawing their dream cars and one of the largest global art contests for children.  

The response to this year’s contest was overwhelming: Toyota received a record total of over 875,000 artworks from 81 countries and regions. National Contests were held until March 2015, with selected entries progressing to the World Contest in May 2015. World Contest entries were judged by Toyota President Akio Toyoda and a panel of outside experts in art and automotive science and winners were invited to Japan for the award ceremony in August. This contest operates under the age categories of below eight years, eight to 11 years and 12 to 15 years. 

To provide Sri Lankan children a chance to receive global recognition, Toyota Lanka (Pvt.) Limited undertook the task of introducing this contest to Sri Lanka in 2011. This year the National Contest winners enter into the World Contest. From these, the jury panel in Japan gives Gold, Silver, Bronze and Best Finalist awards for each age category. The winners were invited to Japan to attend the Award Ceremony and three Sri Lankan children from age category one and two with their parents were fully sponsored by Toyota to participate in the Global Award Ceremony held in Tokyo Japan.   

This year’s awards ceremony was the ninth Toyota Global award ceremony and Sri Lanka was able to successfully produce a Gold Award winner, a Bronze Award winner and a Best Finalist to bringing recognition to the country. Since introduction, Sri Lankan children were able to grab special attention at the global award ceremony and successfully produced two global Bronze winners at the seventh and eighth Toyota Global Dream Car Art Contests, respectively. 
This competition provides and opens doors for local talent to enter the global platform and it also creates a need in children to find solutions to current problems and inspire children to make this world a better place. Toyota Lanka takes pride in providing Sri Lankan children around the country this golden opportunity and engaging their talents at a global level allowing them to receive worldwide recognition.