Taranaki regional development agency Venture Taranaki put a call out to tamariki asking them to colour the region’s path to the future, and 130 entries later, three winners have been chosen from the creative submissions.

The winners are Ocean McKenzie aged 5, Krisha Naidil aged 7, and Saffron Caldwell aged 13. Each will take home a new bike thanks to Mitchell Cycles.

Local artist Paul Rangiwahia was tasked with the difficult job of judging the competition. He said he chose the winners based on their distinctive styles, including Krisha’s "multi-media homerun", Saffron’s "zhuzhed up" additions such as the "Pak’n’Save advert and Mountain erupting", and five-year-old Ocean’s "abstract feel to the piece."

Winner Krisha and her family were visiting Hāwera from Rotorua when they discovered the competition. Krisha was excited by the region’s vision - and the opportunity to win a new bike. "She’s definitely on cloud 9 right now and cannot wait to ride it". The family are looking forward to returning to Taranaki soon, "we are in love with the beautiful place and want to come visit again," says Minal, Krisha’s Mum.

"We’re so impressed with the truly creative and colourful entries we received from around the Maunga, and also from visitors. It is obvious every child put immense time and effort into their pictures," said Justine Gilliland, Venture Taranaki Chief Executive.

"The colouring-in competition endeavoured to shine a light on the region’s community-driven vision and the collaborative work we’re undertaking, as well as to help re-engage individuals and communities, demonstrating how they can continue to get involved as we work towards 2050 together," said Justine.

"We need everyone to come along for the ride as we bring to life the region’s shared vision for a high-value, low-emissions economy, built on inclusivity and sustainability," explains Justine.

And the competition seems to have been a success, with a large number of local entries, as well as some national, and a huge increase in website traffic experienced by Venture Taranaki, with page visits up 12,000% due to people accessing the image for download.

The image used for the colouring-in competition is a refined version of the Taranaki 2050 Roadmap, which launched in 2019 after an extensive co-design process with over 1000 people contributing from around Taranaki.

"And, whilst we’re thrilled with the number of entries, it was also fantastic to see this activity driving such high traffic volume to the webpage, where other key information about the roadmap and the region’s future sits," says Anne Probert, Venture Taranaki GM Regional Strategy and Sectors.

"We hope this initiative stimulates important discussion around Taranaki families’ kitchen tables," adds Anne.

Tapuae Roa and Taranaki 2050, the guiding strategic documents for Taranaki, outline a path to turn the region’s challenges into opportunities to create a resilient and prosperous future for generations to come.

The future vision of Taranaki looks like thriving businesses and meaningful jobs, environmental sustainability and a low-emissions profile, and an inclusive region where no one is left behind; a region that looks out for and cares for itself and its people.

The next initiative is shaping up the be equally as successful, informative, and engaging, with a speakers series called Taranaki 2050 in Conversation launching 31 March, featuring guest speaker renowned futurist Melissa Clark-Reynolds, ONZM. Attendees can register their interest via Eventbrite here. Everyone across our region is welcome and encouraged to attend.

You can also visit the Venture Taranaki website to learn more about the region’s plan for the future and how you can get involved.

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