Unisa online - Department of Geography helps Pretoria boy win first prize

Young Robert Breebaart proudly recieves his first prize certificate

Robert Breebaart, an 11-year old school boy from Wierda Park Primary School in Centurion, made history when he was awarded first prize in Paris, France, for his entry in the International Cartographic Association’s (ICA) 2011 Petchenik World Map Competition for Children.

This year the competition took place from 3 to 8 July, during the 25th Cartographic Conference of the ICA (International Cartographic Association) in Paris, France. Held bi-annually, this competition was instigated by the ICA in 1992 in memory of Dr Barbara Bartz Petchenik, an eminent US cartographer who died in 1992 while she was ICA Vice-President. During her lifetime, Dr Petchenik made an enormous contribution to cartography and was a tireless advocate for the increased use and understanding of maps and spatial data by all peoples.

Since 2008, participation in the Petchenik Competition has been organised and coordinated by the Department of Geography at Unisa in Pretoria. Until 2000, the department was headed by Prof Elri Liebenberg who is the national coordinator of the competition. The current Chair of the Department, Ms Melanie Nicolau, is an ardent map enthusiast and encourages map use in all the department’s courses.

Since January 2008, Unisa has been doing its utmost to encourage children under the age of 15, and from all population groups and cultural backgrounds, to participate in the competition. Schools are visited throughout the country to liaise with teachers and children, and to explain the competition theme. National prizes such as laptops, MP3 players, mini-globes, atlases and books on the environment are also made available, and groups of children are invited on a regular basis to visit the department where they are given the opportunity to draw a map. During these visits, all equipment (paper, paint, crayons, etc.) is provided. Each child is also interviewed by Ms Nicolau, who fills in a basic questionnaire on each child’s map literacy skills and his or her understanding of the global world in which he or she lives.

For the 2011 competition, Unisa’s Department of Geography organised two regional competitions, one in the Northwest Province and one in Gauteng. The competition in the Northwest Province was coordinated by the Greater Rustenburg Community Foundation (GRCF) and entries were received from a number of schools in the rural areas. The maps received for the North West Province were exhibited at the Waterfall Mall in Rustenburg and were judged by the local communities, including a local artist from Ledig. The regional competition in Gauteng was judged by geographers from the Department of Geography. Entries were also received from the other provinces, and in May 2011 the competition entered its final round with an exhibition of selected drawings on show on Unisa’s Muckleneuk campus. Almost 6 000 entries were submitted and a panel of judges was appointed to undertake the formidable task of selecting the nine best entries (three per age group) to be sent to Paris. The nine national winners all received prizes sponsored by Unisa.

Although South Africa has participated in the Petchenik Competition since 1995, the country has never produced an overall winner in any one of the age groups. On 8 July 2011, Robert Breebaart broke this winning drought when he was awarded first prize in the 9 to 12 age group for his striking drawing of a human heart entitled “Global Heartbeat”. The Department of Geography visited his school on 11 November 2011 to congratulate Breebaart for his achievement and to present him with his prize and certificate from the ICA.

The Petchenik Competition is open to children from ICA member nations and requires a child to submit a map-like drawing of A3-size depicting a specific theme. This year’s theme was “Living in a Global World”. The aims of the competition are to promote children’s creative representation of the world, to enhance their cartographic awareness, and to make them more conscious of their environment. Participating member countries appoint a national coordinator who collects the entries out of three age groups: children under 9 years, 9 to 12 years and 12 to 15 years. The thousands of entries which are received are judged by an international panel which awards a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize in each age group.

The participation in an international map competition of this nature provides crucial information regarding local communities by collecting information from the children’s drawings, allowing an assessment of how children position themselves in the world, and how they perceive the world around them. The competition also provides the opportunity to assess the younger generation’s responsibility and awareness towards the environment, which is crucial, within the contemporary drive to sustainable living and futures. With this in mind, the Department of Geography will be organising the competition again in 2013, and will start approaching schools as early as the beginning of 2012.