Wandsworth Girl Wins TfL Women In Transport Book Competition
Tess Kearney won the age 5-7 category with her depiction of a crane operator
Tess is pictured left with her winning picture along with co-winer Isra Sulevani
The competition, organised in partnership with British book printing institution Clays, is part of the Mayor of London’s #BehindEveryGreatCity, marking the centenary of the first women in the UK winning the right to vote.
Winners Tess Kearney, now aged 8 and from Wandsworth, Ibraheem Saleemi, now aged 9, and Isra Sulevani, now aged 14, have had their stories and images turned into a limited edition book.
They also got to take part in a behind the scenes tour of TfL, discovering the different job roles there are in the transport industry.
The competition, which included three different age categories, asked children to use their imaginations to draw a picture or write a story about how women at TfL keep London moving. There were six hundred entries to the competition from children all over London, which depicted women working in the transport industry in a number of roles, from app designers to civil engineers.
Lauren Sager Weinstein, Chief Data Officer at TfL and one of The Female Lead’s 20 role models in Data & Technology, said, “The imagination that all of the children showed in their creations, along with their passion and enthusiasm, indicates the bright futures they have ahead of them and only emphasises why gender should never be a barrier to achieving your aspirations. It’s thrilling to see the creativity in these entries from talented young Londoners. Well done to Tess, Ibraheem and Isra for winning, along with all of the runners-up, as they faced some tough competition.”
Heidi Alexander, Deputy Mayor for Transport, added, “It is great to see this fantastic collection of stories and drawings from children across the city, capturing the crucial role women play in keeping London moving. Telling the stories of engineers, drivers and designers, this book will encourage young Londoners to explore the opportunities available to them in our city, and ensure they know that no one should be held back by their gender.”
After much deliberation, the winning entries were chosen by the judging panel made up of acclaimed authors including Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Lauren Child MBE, ‘How to Train your Dragon’ author Cressida Cowell, and ‘Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World’ writer, Kate Pankhurst, as well as representatives from TfL and Clays.
Tess Kearney from Wandsworth illustrated what it would be like to be a crane operator (5-7 Drawing Category). She said: “I was very happy to hear that my picture was chosen to be used in the book. I enjoyed entering the competition because I like drawing and I think that women can do anything if they try. I’d also like to drive a crane!”
October 25, 2018