Loeries seeks disadvantaged creative student for scholarship

The Loerie Awards has evolved into a year-long focus on creative inspiration. The Creative Future Scholarship is aimed at addressing the lack of creative talent coming out of South African schools by awarding one learner with a life-changing opportunity, but inspiring and educating multitudes of others about the opportunities in the creative industry.

Entries for the Creative Future Scholarship are now open to Grade 12 students with financial need from Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Teachers must fill in the forms, which can be downloaded from the Loerie Awards website, on behalf of their students and submit them no later than 5 June 2009. Finalists will be invited to a judging session involving a review of their portfolios, a creative challenge and an intensive interview.

The winner of the 2009 Creative Future Scholarship will be announced at The Loerie Awards in Cape Town during The Loerie Awards Festival Weekend that takes places from 24 to 27 September 2009.

"We have a number of initiatives to raise awareness about the essential role that creativity plays in the professional arena," said Andrew Human, MD of the Loeries. "Our Travelling Exhibition showcases Loerie Award-winning works around the country, with many stops at educational institutions. The awards themselves encourage creative expression and competition, and now the Creative Future Scholarship is addressing the grass-roots need for recognition of this critical skill."

SABC a partner

The scholarship was launched in partnership with the SABC, a long-standing supporter of the Loerie Awards and of creativity in South Africa. Given the existing SABC sponsorship of the awards, the scholarship was a perfect opportunity for both organisations to work together to further their aims of nurturing creative talent in this country.

"The Loerie Awards were first held in 1979 as a mechanism to support and grow the advertising industry. As one of the main sponsors of the Loerie Awards, the SABC, over the last couple of years, increased its investment and strengthened its partnership with the Loerie Awards in support of the creative industry," said Nisha Jones, SABC: SD and acting marketing director.

All expenses covered

For the scholarship to be meaningful, the awards recognised that it had to cover all of the recipient's expenses, and not just tuition.

"Many disadvantaged students who matriculate have to immediately enter the workforce to support themselves and help their families financially," said Human. "We wanted to ensure that the scholarship makes it possible for the recipient to complete their studies in a nurturing environment conducive to academic success, so we made sure that it covers school materials, transport and living expenses as well."

The scholarship is in collaboration with the Woolworths Making the Difference Through Design programme, which was launched as an educational initiative in 2006. The programme furthers awareness of, and provides the tools to assist in, teaching design as a school subject, and formed the perfect platform from which to reach potential candidates for the Creative Future Scholarship.

For more information, go to www.theloerieawards.co.za.