Elsies River learner wins national poster competition
17 November 2022
Maricia Fortuin of Elsies River High School has her sights set on becoming a successful businesswoman and the 14-year-old Grade 8 learner knows just how to do it.
Her poster showing how afterschool activities can assist learners in reaching their goals won first place out of more than 70 entries from across the country.
The 2022 South African edition of the Lights On After School campaign, now in its third year, is focused on celebrating the work of the After School sector in supporting learner wellbeing and academic catch up efforts post the COVID-19 global pandemic. This year, the campaign kicked off with a poster competition. This afforded learners the opportunity to express themselves creatively and showcase how After School programmes have impacted their lives.
Elsies River High School is part of the Equilibrium: Going for Gold Leadership Programme. Learners meet after school once a week. They are exposed to activities to uplift the community.
As the winner of the 2022 poster competition, Maricia secured resources for her school and after school organisation. Representatives from the Youth and After School Programme Office, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, The Learning Trust (TLT), The Community Chest of the Western Cape, and the Department of Education in the Western Cape, were all present to hand over the prizes.
Western Cape Education Minister, David Maynier, recognised the valuable role that after-school programmes play in the province, saying: “These programmes offer our learners experiences and support that they might not necessarily receive outside of school, so I congratulate Maricia on her win which helps us celebrate the sector!”
Chief Director: Cultural Affairs, Carol Van Wyk, who was one of the adjudicators, commented on the critical role the arts play: “The arts help us create hope and dreams. We cannot hope without imagination and the arts help us imagine alternative futures for ourselves, and they help us believe in our ability to achieve these dreams.
Sibongile Khumalo, Executive Director (TLT) said: “We all agreed that Maricia presented us with the most visually appealing and creative poster that showcases optimism about her own future and even displays some ambition for her country. The graphs depict her knowledge of maths and science, and her use of tech imagery also evokes 21st century thinking. I wish her all the success she deserves!”