A Conference on Creativity

March 1st, 2008 · No Comments

I just came back from the annual American Creativity Conference held for the first time in Singapore where I was one of the speakers. Over 200 people attended from all corners of the globe, the only thing we had in common was an interest in creativity either in business, education or government.

I have listed below my impressions as it was my first conference:

1. I am very impressed with what the Singapore government is trying to do on the creativity and innovation front. The leaders realise that Singapore has no natural resources and therefore must rely on the intellectual and creative energy of their people. It also must compete on a world stage when it is such a small country compared to its neighbours. This has led to the establishment of the Singapore Management University where creative thinking, for example is considered a core subject.

2. As I was sitting through my 15 th presentation I was struck by the notion that most of the presenters could have been talking about the workings of a car engine rather than creativity. Surely a conference on creativity would encourage presenters to be more inventive in their presentations I pondered. That is why with my graduate students they must present without any powerpoint slides.

3. I thought the most interesting presentation was from the principal of a junior college who had totally reimagined the type of learning that would harness the benefits of technology and engage the minds of the young e.g. they were using teacher Avatars from Second Life as a way of stimulating discussion in class. It struck me that the education sector was way ahead of the business sectors which talks about innovation all the time but sometimes I feel that this is all it does.

4. The most engaging presentation was from the former curator of the Singapore Zoo who talked about the difficulty Singapore was having trying to transform itself from a rule-bound culture to one that challenges and provokes. There is a clear parallel with business leaders. They say they want more creativity and innovation but only (it seems) within limits. They seem scared of unlocking the creative potential of the organisation. It reminds me of the fearful expression of an innovation manager of a large well-known company who was aghast at my suggestion that everyone in his organisation should receive a copy of my new book (The Idea Generator, Allen & Unwin) for fear of the creativity it might unlock. ‘Everyone would have all these ideas’ streaming around the place he offered in clear desperation. I shrugged, surely that was the point I suggested and then left wondering that perhaps this person was in the wrong job!