Comments on: Manifesto for Creativity and Innovation

By: Goran

Goran — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:10:42 +0000

Thanks Andreas, I was not aware about this Manifesto. it seems the authors were not innovative in getting the word out (as you point in your own reflection)
This brings me to thew main challenge here: Being innovative in promoting innovation is a very being challenge. I am afraid that the text and the core messages – irrespective of their relevance and appropriateness- are a boring read. If only each of the 7 core actions was accompanied by a small touch of communication innovation .

By: Kristin

Kristin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:10:13 +0000

Okay, my brain hurts while thinking about this. Maybe I should try again tomorrow morning.

By: Andreas Karsten

Andreas Karsten — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:07:27 +0000

While waiting for responses from the ambassadors, I stumbled over this:

"To know how good you are at something requires the same skills as it does to be good at that thing. Which means if you're absolutely hopeless at something, you lack exactly the skills that you need to know that you're absolutely hopeless."

John Cleese on creativity

By: Andreas Karsten

Andreas Karsten — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:21:46 +0000

Thanks, Pippa – for the praise and the link!

My five favourites:

_live, act, work with and not against nature
_know that life is too complex to understand it intellectually
_value and safe-guard diversity of all kind
_value and integrate the wisdom of women
_are aware of change as one of the core principles of evolution

What has become of the Cultural Revolutionaries?

By: Andreas Karsten

Andreas Karsten — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:06:32 +0000

Kristin, you have a point: it’s not boring, it is known. And yes, such a manifesto should much rather look into the future than re-confirm what we know already!

You know, I think I might go and chase some of these ambassadors to see what they think about their own manifesto.

Update: Contacted all ambassadors, so let’s see what that gives (if anything).

By: Kristin

Kristin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:17:55 +0000

“The Manifesto for Creativity and Innovation” written by the ambassadors of the European Year for Creativity and Innovation, people like Richard Florida, who wrote an entire book about how creativity is the leading force of your economies and societies, and Edward de Bono, who is trying to promote a new way of thinking, saying that we think wrong.

I read the title and thought that I have to read it. I was sure it’s going to be great, full of creative and innovative ideas. I expected something different, refreshing.

But it wasn�t. I�m really disappointed. Not because it is boring, but because it only includes ideas and arguments we already know. There is nothing new.

Andreas, I do agree with you that Europe would be a better place if only 2 or 3 of these actions would be implemented. But is this the benchmark for a Manifesto for Creativity and Innovation? Do we have to be satisfied with the things that might be possible and realistic? Shouldn�t it be the task of these ambassadors to think ahead of everybody else, to think something new?

By: Andreas Karsten

Andreas Karsten — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:35:07 +0000

I find the silence around this Manifesto – a silence across Europe – in both traditional and new media quite intriguing, I have to admit. And in particular the online silence surprises me: the Euroblogosphere picks up almost anything, really, from rumour to whisper to news…

But nope, my feedreader is as quiet as Google Blog Search and good ol’ Technorati confirm.

On Twitter my brother remarked that the whole thing is stereotypically banal and, quite simply, very boring. While I see his point, I am not sure I entirely agree.

After all, we speak about the European Institutions that tend to live in the 50s and 60s and have trouble imagining to allow women into their ranks in any meaningful numbers.

If the European Union Leviathan took only two or three of these actions onboard instead of clinging to its ridiculous agrarian past, wouldn’t Europe become a better place?

By: Pippa

Pippa — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:30:20 +0000

The new template looks awesome Andreas! It organises the threads of Nonformality perfectly! Another declaration that is on a similar theme to this manifesto is the Declaration of Cultural Revolutionaries. Have you read it already?