UAE Gold Award winner of Toyota Dream Car Art Contest shortlisted for international competition

• Minhal Adnan Sami from the UAE, shortlisted among 875,000 entries worldwide

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, July 5, 2015: Ten year old Minhal Adnan Sami, winner of  the Gold National Award at the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest has been shortlisted among 875,000 entries globally to the final stages of the competition and is invited with her family to attend the award ceremony in Japan this coming August.

Minhal who painted the colourful “Ecofix car“, won Al-Futtaim Motors’ Gold Award for her age group in May, and is one of 30 finalists who will get the chance to go to Japan to experience the Japanese culture in Tokyo and Nagoya, ahead of the international judging ceremony to be held on August 26th. 
The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest is Toyota’s global initiative designed to inspire creativity in youth and encourage interest in making the world a better place. 

“We are extremely proud of Minhal and her wonderful artwork, which will now go up against other very talented artists from around the world, all vying to create the next car that will help make the world a better place,” said Jon Williams, Managing Director, Al-Futtaim Motors.

“Green transport is a very dear topic to us at Al-Futtaim Motors and indeed for Toyota globally. This competition is the perfect platform for young artists to express their dreams for new technologies that will help make the automotive world better. We have received some wonderful ideas over the course of the competition. We wish Minhal the best of luck in Japan and hope she brings home the top prize!” 

Commenting on the news, Minhal said: “I called my car Ecofix because it is fuelled by fruit and vegetable compost, and rewards people for disposing of their compost in a more efficient way. The compost then helps plants grow and use preserved rainwater to water the plants, meaning new plants can grow to feed villagers in an efficient cycle.”

Minhal’s father, Adnan Sami, said: “We’re very proud of Minhal and are very excited for her participation in the international competition. We always knew she has artistic talents and the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest gave her a good starting point to express her abilities while also coming up with a new and wonderful idea to help make the world a better place.”

The contest saw around 1,000 entries from 12 different schools across the UAE participating across three different age groups: below 7, 8 to 11, and 12 to 15. 

Select artwork from the contest is currently touring and decorating the Toyota facilities in the UAE, allowing an even wider audience to celebrate the talent and vision of the UAE’s up and coming generation of artists.