STUDENTS COMPETE TO DESIGN WORLD HEART FEDERATION CARDWhen the World Heart Federation wanted a design for its 2007 season’s greeting card, it sought help from the International School of Geneva - La Grande Boissière campus - in Switzerland. The result was a competition among approximately 90 students of art and German teacher Karen Dorsay, who has 17 years of experience at the school. There were 16 finalists. The winner was 13-year-old Matilda. Her attractive design shows a field of reddish and purplish balloons in the shape of hearts of various sizes. On the reverse of the card is a single large, heart-shaped balloon. The judges were Ms Dorsay and a threesome from the World Heart Federation: President Shahryar Sheikh, Chief Executive Officer Janet Voûte and Chief Operating Officer Helen Alderson. “We’re honoured that Ms Dorsay chose to make the competition part of her curriculum and pleased that the students accepted the challenge so enthusiastically,” Dr Sheikh said. “The selection process was difficult because there were so many excellent entries. Our deepest thanks and congratulations go to Matilda for her prize-winning entry, which we thought expressed vitality and hope as well as a skillful grasp of proportion and colour. We hope that the competition instilled in all the students a greater appreciation of the importance of keeping a sound and healthy heart.” Elements of many of the non-winning entries will be incorporated onto the World Heart Federation’s web site. "I hope that, even in some small way, my design might actually do some good," she said. "Maybe it will make people more aware of the World Heart Federation and make the world a bit healthier." Matilda’s prize was a coupon from Ochsner Sports, a sporting goods merchant in Switzerland. Using art to teach about cardiovascular diseaseUsing materials supplied by the World Heart Federation, Ms Dorsay designed the competition to provide the students a meaningful understanding of cardiovascular disease. “I presented the information to them in a pedagogical way, stressing the importance of healthier foods and more sports,” she said. Ms Dorsay praised Matilda for her design’s childlike simplicity, for the balloons suggesting hope and lightness and for her subtle use of colour to provide a three-dimensional texture. “It was also quite relevant for season’s greetings – very festive,” Ms Dorsay said.
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