A Grade 8 learner has won the South African Doodle for Google competition with a nature-themed doodle envisioning a country free from poaching.
The competition invited school children across the country to create a Google Doodle depicting the “South Africa of Their Dreams”.
The overall national winner, Katya Ludick, is a Grade 8 pupil from Noordheuwel High School in Krugersdorp. She created a nature-themed doodle, symbolising a South Africa free of poaching. “The reflection symbolises 20 years of freedom. In my South African dream, there is no more poaching. We must fight for those that can’t speak,” Ludick said of her doodle.
Not only will this doodle appear on the Google South Africa homepage on 3 December, but Noordheuwel High School also wins a R100 000 technology grant.
Elizma Nolte, country marketing manager for Google South Africa, comments: “Google’s doodles have been surprising and delighting visitors to our home page for many years – and what better way to surprise and delight than by asking children to doodle their dreams for South Africa. If the future of South Africa looks but a little like the collage of drawings we’ve collected during Doodle 4 Google, we have a lot to look forward to. Congratulations to all our winners.”
Doodles were submitted across four age groups: Ages 6-8; Ages 9-11; Ages 12 -14; and Ages 15-17. Celebrity judges picked their top 20 finalists after which the public voted for category winners as well as their ultimate winner.
Celebrity judges included: DJ Fresh, author John van De Ruit, Springbok Pat Lambie; Survivor competitor Graham Jenneker, musician Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Spud star Sven Ruygrok, and media and tech entrepreneur Seth Rotherham.
The 20 finalists were flown to Johannesburg for an awards ceremony in the city’s trend art district of Maboneng. The awards were presented by the judges as well as the Deputy Minister of Communications Thembisa Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and Google South Africa country director, Luke Mckend.
“The entries show how talented our children are. It is good that we have an event like Doodle 4 Google to encourage creativity and imagination among our children,” says Ndabeni-Abrahams.
The winners received prizes, including Android tablets and Google Play vouchers.
The winners per category are:
Age: 6-8 – Kayleigh Breytenbach – Sabie Preparatory School
Age: 9-11 – Zehiye Rahman – Clarendon Preparatory School
Age: 12-14 – Katya Ludick – Noordheuwel High School (Overall Winner)
Age 15-17 – Alexandra Wuzyk – Secunda High School.
