Canada in Creativity Crisis

World Creativity and Innovation Week April 15 - 21 began as a response to this banner headline in Canada's National Post newspaper, May 25, 2001.

Marci Segal, of Toronto, Canada, contacted other Canadian creativity colleagues, John Sedgwick of St. Catharines, ON, Paul Rousseau of Windsor, ON and Jacynthe Bedard, Quebec City, QC., whom she knew from years of attending the Creative Problem Solving Institute Conference in Buffalo, NY.  She told them about the headline, saying, "Canada isn’t in a creativity crisis at all – there's plenty of creativity here. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone could see that?" They discussed opportunities for ways of heightening its awareness. Together they co-created this worldwide recognition – World Creativity and Innovation Day, April 21. Inaugural celebrations began in Toronto, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Bangkok, and San Diego in 2002. 

The intention for the celebration was determined during that call - to help people realize their creativity acknowledging that innovation would not occur without it.  It's main purpose still stands: to encourage and engage people in using their creativity to make the world a better place and to make their place in the world better too without doing harm. "Admit It. You're Creative." now the name of Toronto Canada's signature event, was the first year's World Creativity and Innovation Day theme.  Other themes over the years have included, "Plant a Seed, Watch it Grow", and "Let's keep the conversation going."

In 2005, the day-long celebration transformed into World Creativity and Innovation Week (WCIW) beginning April 15th which is Leonardo da Vinci's birthday. This shift was in response to people's needs to choose their best time venue. Some use the week, others a day, an afternoon, an hour, or a meal doing something just a little differently to rekindle their creative spark. 

By 2009, more than 30,000 WCIW tweets were sent.  People from over 108 countries in businesses, schools and communities  reported activities and events.  A Facebook group was formed and a wiki constructed and populated.  WCIW began to appear in the blogosphere, in print and broadcast over internet radio.  

In 2010 we expect WCIW's growth to continue. For this year and in years forward, more people will discover, uncover, and recover their natural abilities to use new ideas, imagination and make new decisions that make the world a better place and to make their place in the world better too.

World Creativity and Innovation Week April 15 - 21 provides a point of time that highlights everyone's creative potential to use new ideas, imagination and make new decisions that, when overtly claimed and developed, lead to innovation success.

Visit our  Creativiki to see how others have enlivened their WCIW and to add yours too.
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