Creative Approaches for Innovative Action

The Council of the European Union and the Education, Youth and Culture Council decided that 2009 was to be proclaimed the “European Year of Creativity and Innovation” (EYCI), the objective being to enhance awareness of the importance of creativity and innovation in the knowledge society.

As part of the Lisbon Strategy, the European Year of Creativity and Innovation is intended to make a contribution to the promotion of economic growth and the enhancement of European competitiveness.
The Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture and KulturKontakt Austria initiated a process of preparation for the EYCI 2009. In consultation with national and international experts, the concepts “creativity” and “innovation” were more clearly defined and relevant subjects were identified.
In this connection, creativity, which people often associate only with art, was defined as the capacity for curiosity and spontaneity, a desire for new things and playful encounters, which is also to be applied to all areas of knowledge and personality development. The term innovation was essentially interpreted to mean a new approach to technical, scientific, academic, artistic, social and emotional problems that contributes to a basic improvement of the respective situation and facilitates progress.
Based on this interpretation, a system (e.g. of education) that fosters creativity and innovation is one in which new things can grow and develop. In the spring of 2009, the Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture and KulturKontakt Austria invited education experts to three conferences to discuss the question “How do we get new things into the system?” at three levels: that of individuals, the organisational level and the level of the overall system.
In addition to an intensive discussion of future approaches and methods for promoting key competences that are of particular importance for the knowledge society and that promote creativity and innovation, a central focus was placed on the question of how to realise innovative developments in the education system more efficiently, in order to optimally prepare learners for the challenges of the future against the backdrop of changing economic and social structures. The results of the discussion at the specialists’ level will be integrated into a national enquiry in the autumn of 2009 and further developed. As a supplement to this discourse, a festival at the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna will give the broad public an opportunity to try out their personal capacities for innovation and creativity in an interdisciplinary and interactive context.
The need for innovation and sustainability repeatedly presents challenges to the educational sector which, in turn, require flexible reactions on the part of KulturKontakt Austria and thus have an important impact on its strategy development. For example: The transformation processes in Eastern and South Eastern Europe have been a central focus of the organisation since the early 1990s. Providing system-oriented support for reform processes in education policy necessitated innovative and sustainable approaches and was the basis for multi-levelled cooperation with partner countries in the region.
Today, however, as a result of globalisation, technological progress and crisis-laden developments in the economy, in ecology and in society, an adequate structural shift is needed in all European education systems. KulturKontakt Austria’s experience with the far-reaching transformation processes in the reform states can serve as a valuable resource for the Austrian structuring process as well. This is an area in which KulturKontakt Austria can make valuable contributions for the future.
The transformation of society and the modernisation of the countries of Eastern and South Eastern Europe have also had far-reaching effects on the working conditions and spatial mobility of artists and other people working in the cultural sector. With its mobility programmes, KKA supports the increased demand for European networking, and endeavours to build more and better platforms for encounter and exchange.
If we look at the significance of creativity for the education of individuals, it is important to appreciate the entire personality of each learner, to discover and foster each person’s talents and interests and to create the proper environment for doing so. Curiosity, the joy of discovery and a motivation to learn form the basis for personal development, which must be both sustained and fostered. Artists, who are entitled to play a key role in the discourse on creativity and innovation, are distinguished not least by the courage with which they leave beaten paths, the critical questions they pose, and a perceptive awareness of their environment. Working at the interface of art, culture and education, KulturKontakt Austria facilitates encounters betweens schools and artistic production in the context of projects and programmes. The central focus is on creative processes in which artists, pupils and teachers all participate. In the course of long-term cooperation projects with cultural institutions, the school, as a learning space, opens up and embraces a change of perspective that allows new groups of people, new methods and new experiences to find their way into the school.
Commercial organisations have also recognised the potential of cooperating with people from the arts sector, a potential that goes beyond the concept of using the sponsoring of art and culture as a marketing instrument. Corporate creativity has become one of the new guiding principles of the commercial sector, for without creativity, innovation cannot take place. Exchange and synergies between art and business are thus gaining increasing significance. KulturKontakt sees itself as a link in this respect and provides support in the development of new forms of cooperation.
Creativity and innovation are essential elements of the current and future work of KulturKontakt Austria. The European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 is an occasion to reflect upon our own spheres of action and to participate actively in the European and international discourse. The application of creative and innovative approaches at the project level and in various types of programmes is not only a mandate but also a highly promising perspective for the future. Our goal, however, is to establish it at the system level.