My Colourful Future, by Anaya Cherian.A student from Cambridge Elementary has won second place at an international cartography competition. Grade 6 student Anaya Cherian was awarded silver in the Barbara Petchenik Children's Map Competition, a worldwide contest held every two years by the International Cartographic Association (ICA).
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the competition was created in 1993 to memorialize a former ICA Vice President and was founded to promote children's cartographic awareness while also encouraging them to be more conscious of their environment.
The competition is divided into four age categories, with Anaya in the 9-12 year old group. For her entry, titled My Colourful Future', she created an image of the world's continents with a girl holding balloons showcasing various images of unity and kindness.
"I used the girl because I thought she represented me and the balloons represented my ideas of the world being connected and how we will be even more connected in the future," she said. "It was also interesting to learn about the maps and how they're always accurate."
As for how she got involved with the competition, Anaya said it was part of a class project that started in the previous school year.
"We all entered the contest, and I was surprised when I got second," she said, adding that she plans to enter the next competition in two years.
Her teacher, Priya Minhas, said the competition was an opportunity for students like Anaya to not only learn about cartography, but think about showcasing what that means using creative process.
"Anaya is an outstanding student, and she sees the world in different ways and does her best to represent that in her art," said Minhas. "It's amazing to see that recognized on the world stage."
For coming in second place, Anaya was awarded 50 Euros and her work will be submitted to UNICEF for consideration of postcards and other international projects that make use of student art work.
Congratulations, Anaya!
