Creativity at Heart of Society ... An Irish Presidency Vision

By Steven Dahlberg

Why I Should Be President ... The Irish Times recently asked the seven candidates hoping to succeed Irish President Mary McAleese to outline why they believe they would make a good president.

In a statement of a mere 700 words, Labour Party candidate Michael D. Higgins put creativity at the heart of his vision for society, citizenship and development. Higgins also is the former Irish Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.

• The vision I am offering is of inclusive citizenship in a creative society, as we build a real Republic that makes us proud to be Irish in the world.
• Everyone has a contribution to make – whatever their religion, capacity, origin, orientation or income – and inclusion also means shared responsibility, to each other and to generations yet to come. As president, I would also promote a creative society, combining the best of tradition with the spark of innovation and opening up possibilities in every area of life from education to science to business.
• I would encourage creativity in practical ways, something I did as Ireland’s first minister for the arts in the 1990s, establishing TG4 and a network of local arts venues, and helping transform Irish film from an €11 million into a €186 million industry.
• I see the same potential today in creative industries from games development to artisan foods. However, creativity is, most importantly, a vital part of citizenship and needs to be supported from the ground up, in our communities and schools. As president, I would encourage access to art, music and self-development for every child.

Rare is a politician who truly understands -- beyond lip service -- that the creative imagination, ideas and engagement of every citizen is the raw material that builds community, develops the economy and shapes the political process. Higgins, whose self-description includes "poet,"  deeply understands that developing and expressing one's creative self in society is how one meaningfully engages in learning, work and community. He is a prime example of this personally.

Would that the 2012 United States presidential campaign season would include such a dialogue ...

What role does/should creativity play in engaging U.S. citizens in society? How does Michael D. Higgins' vision inspire you? Is there any connection between such a vision for a creative society and what is happening with #OccupyWallStreet?

Commentary: On Making Things to Explore Identity

By Natalie Morris
Media Reviewed:

Representing Identities: February 26, 2008
A short introduction to research where we ask people to make things as part of the process; with particular focus on the Lego identity study.

I believe as an individual that every human being has the capability of making a change through the use of creativity. However, to discover our creativity one has to appreciate his or her own individuality and recognize ways in which to express it. "Representing Identities part 1" by David Guantlett uses a method by which people make things as a way of exploring one's identity or experiences. He uses visual methods, such as drawings, videos, collages, etc. to get the brain working in a different way. David feels as if at any given moment people are thinking of several things at once. He offers a creative way for how people can create a meaningful dialog or narrative picture of one specific thing. He suggests using creative methods by which people can create a meaningful response to sum up their identities.

I found it interesting that he used Legos as a way of exploring one’s individuality. The study conducted involves having participants become familiar with the idea of using Legos to create an idea of thinking and building in metaphors. Then the participants actually build their identity physically, but in a metaphoric way. I love it -- an individual can use this creative method to track patterns of behavior they want to change or behavioral pattern in others. David uses Legos so that the individual can actually sum up their life as a whole. The participants also were asked to create things that influenced them. One of the things I like best about this study is that it has people from all walks of life who participated.

Participants felt as if the experience was revealing and emotional. I shall try it myself, for I might find out something I never knew about my self. This creative method can be used to show how people really feel in a particular environment. It can be used to understand one’s life. It is very interesting and I suggest anyone also try it. You might even come up with a creative method of exploring your own identity!

Commentary: On Creativity and Food

By Michelle DAiuto
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

[CLIP]

Occasionally, I would show up at school and eat lunch with my child. What did I find? Pizza, chicken nuggets, fruit in a cup, and his favorite, French toast sticks and sausages.

Was there cooking in my local elementary school? No, they just reheat what was being sent from a central warehouse.

I remember as a young girl going to the cafeteria and watching the big machines mix the food. It wasn’t exactly homemade but better than today’s fare.

Food feeds the body. The body holds the mind. How can we as parents send our children out to eat things that are both toxic to the mind and body?

As we left the public school system and entered the private sector, we noticed a difference in the food being served. Foods were freshly prepared and a salad bar was offered. Even if our school system couldn’t afford great cuts of meat for everyone, fruits and salads should have been standard fare.

Only now do I realized what a disservice I was doing to my child, as well as my community. With the hurried life of Americans, we must stop and observe what our children are putting in their mouth. The school my son eventually went to for sixth grade had mid-morning snacks of apples and milk and a 15-minute break to burn off excess energy and that was the norm up to ninth grade. Sometimes kids get hungry and restless. When this happens, how are you to engage a child.?

Some parents might not believe it, but your child’s education does depend on the food that we feed them, whether its breakfast, lunch or dinner. We, as parents, need to speak up and affect change because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Commentary: On Creative Economies

By Michael Vinci
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

Creative Economy Association of the North Shore
We are Massachusetts' think tank for greater creative and economic success. CEANS supports the growth of the creative economy in the North of Boston Shore Region, and the individuals who work within creative fields.

This video is a surprisingly miniature version of the Connecting Creative Communities Conference. There were people who wanted to promote creativity in their area. This video briefly profiles the Creative Economy Association of the North Shore (CEANS) of Massachusetts. They really just want their neighborhoods to make money (which is great!). People can find ways to draw people into their communities using creativity and that is good for everyone. Unfortunately, some people may think that their communities are not creative. Take for example:

• Waterbury, Connecticut, which is home of the Timex watch company. If the people there had not been creative then we would not have the styles of watches we now consider to be classic and timeless (no pun intended).
• New Britain, Connecticut, was and still is to some degree the home of Stanley Works. If not for the creativity of the people who worked in the factories we would not have many of the machining techniques we now have today.
• In Hartford, Connecticut, the insurance capital of the world, many principles and guidelines for writing policies were no doubt developed.

The bottom line is that there is something everywhere that makes any specific community unique. People had cows and used their milk for many, many years, but until the creative Louis Pasteur thought about how he could make that milk safer and last longer the world did not have the technique of pasteurization.

People everywhere are creative in their own ways and it is always showing. We just need to see it!

Commentary: On Creativity in the Workplace from 'Just Shoot Me'

By Lissette Rios
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

Just Shoot Me: Blush Gets Some Therapy

Commentary:
Communication is extremely important in our life. We need to have excellent communication skills at work, school, church, home, etc., in order to succeed. There are many people who know how to communicate well; others have bad or poor communication skills, while still others have no communication skills at all.

The video clip that I chose is from the sitcom, “JUST SHOOT ME.” This show is about a fashion magazine so you know that the screen writers always need to be creative when writing the episodes. In the video clip, we see that the employees are having a group dynamics session with a therapist. There was miscommunication within the staff so the owner of the Blush magazine decided to address the issue with the help of a therapist.

My opinion about this clip is that the originality was excellent. I love the therapist’s group dynamic and how he addressed the bad communication within the group. He said, “Today we are a car” and asked each one of the members to make a noise that resembles a car. The team started to make the noise, which sounded terrible. Then, he said, “That’s how it is when we communicate badly.” The exercise made the point across the team. I believe that this type of creative activity helps people to recognize their issues without pointing fingers. Once again, creativity is important in our life.

Creativity helps us to address a negative quality of someone without making the person feel bad or uncomfortable. Like the video clip showed (and we learned in class), these types of creative activities do not depend on age, length of employment, type of work, level of education, etc. In the process of any particular activity, we could learn to be non-judgmental. That did not happen on that episode, but hey, each character in “JUST SHOOT ME” has his or her personality, and sarcasm sometimes makes us laugh. It’s a great show, if you want to have a good laugh you ought to watch the reruns.

We should have creative exercises like this one in the workplace; especially for this particular issue, COMMUNICATION. I did a research on creative activities for the workplace and communication and came to the conclusion that they can be used as icebreakers or warm ups before a meeting. They aer simple, inexpensive and most of all, FUN. I will be doing one at work and I’ll ask everyone to provide their honest feedback because in our last pulse survey, communication was one of our weaknesses. The activity that I am planning on doing (see below) will cover the other side of communication which is, “good listening.”

Paper-Tearing Exercise
Time Allocation: 5 minutes
Materials: Blank 8 ½-by-11-inch sheets of paper for each participant

Instructions:

1. Tell the participants the following: “We are going to play a game that will show us some important things about communication. Pick up your sheet of paper and hold it in front of you. Now, close your eyes and follow the directions I will give you—and no peeking!" Participants cannot ask questions.
2. Give the following directions, carrying them out yourself with your own sheet of paper and pausing after each instruction to give the group time to comply:
   “The first thing I want you to do is to fold your sheet of paper in half. Now tear off the upper right-hand corner. Fold it in half again and tear off the upper left hand corner of the sheet. Fold it in half again. Now tear off the lower right-hand corner of the sheet.”
3. After the tearing is complete, say something like, “Now open your eyes, and let’s see what you have. If I did a good job of communicating and you did a good job of listening, all of our sheets should look the same!” Hold your sheet up for them to see. It is highly unlikely any sheet will match yours exactly.
4. Observe the differences. There will probably be much laughter.
5. Ask the group why no one’s paper matched yours. (You will probably get responses like “You didn’t let us ask questions!” or “Your directions could be interpreted in different ways.”) Then, lead into a presentation on the need for two-way communication in the workplace.

Commentary: On FRESH the Movie

By Tiffany Friedlander
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

FRESH the Movie
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet. Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy.

Commentary:
I chose to write about this movie because it really struck me how the general public doesn’t know exactly what they are eating. Most of our fruits and vegetables are covered with chemicals and animals are being given so many antibiotics that they don’t need, it’s like we are poisoning ourselves. This movie shows us alternatives we can take to eat healthier and we can do this in our backyards. Also, it was a creative idea to share this movie with others and when I saw this, I saw it with my classmates and other people in the community. The point of this movie was to help people to think creatively to shift their lifestyles and to eat healthier.

I recall that in the movie someone said that there are people who want to eat healthy but there isn’t a place nearby where they can get fruits and vegetables. Will Allen, who used to be a professional basketball player, has his own farm and has many people come to visit to learn more about growing crops. He is involved in a program called Growing Power which brings the community together. This way he can show people how to grow crops in their own backyards, even in urban areas like where Will lives. I like the idea of how he uses waste as compost. The worms that are mixed in it turn it into compost. The point of this is to make sure people have access to fresh, healthy food. I also believe that it’s important for people to be able to obtain healthy food. We need to eat healthier and prevent obesity. It doesn’t appear that Will Allen uses pesticides on his crops. We don’t need that on the crops; if anything it is more harmful to us the more we ingest it.

Who ever thought how much antibiotics animals are given. I think it’s unbelievable how much they are given. This movie presents a long list of antibiotics that animals are injected with, which supposedly makes them grow faster and wards off low-grade infections. So, if we are eating meat with all these antibiotics in it and if we could get really sick, even if we try to take whatever medications to fight off the sickness it may not do anything because of how much antibiotics were given to the animals. This can cause some microorganisms that cause illnesses in humans to become immune to certain antibiotics. Overall, it’s dangerous for us to be eating many of the meats we buy in the grocery stores because of what the animals are given.

Watching this movie really made me think so much about what is in our food and what we are really eating. What can we do about this? I don’t think pesticides and other chemicals are needed in the things we grow. The animals we would be eating don’t need antibiotics at all. I found this movie to be inspiring. I want to learn more about where I can get food that won’t put my health in danger. This is a movie that I recommend to everyone to watch. I think this will put a shock to their system once they find out the truth behind food we buy. This is a movie that helps spread the word to others.

Commentary: On Playing for Change's 'Stand By Me'

By Josefina Tiburcio
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

Playing For Change: Episode 2, "Stand By Me"
Four years ago while walking down the street in Santa Monica, Calif., the voice of Roger Ridley singing “Stand By Me” was heard from a block away. His voice, soul and passion set us on a course around the world to add other musicians to his performance. This song transformed Playing For Change from a small group of individuals to a global movement for peace and understanding. This track features more than 35 musicians collaborating from all over the world. They may have never met in person, but in this case, the music does the talking.

Commentary:
This class is about exploring “Creativity and Social Change,” which is why the video, “Stand By Me,” captured my attention from the minute I watched it. The people that had the bright idea of putting this video together are very creative and are making positive social changes in society, as well as in communities all over the world. Furthermore, the name of their Web site speaks for itself -- Playing for Change.

Based on what I experienced when I watched this, I strongly believe that the creativity in this video can touch our hearts and possibly awaken the feeling and emotions that many of us hide deep inside of us. It is amazing to see how all of the people singing in the video are connected by the same passion for the music and the sound of the different instruments. Some of them actually make very nice musical sounds with different objects they play -- possibly invented or created by themselves.

The possibility of being connected by similar emotional pains exists. These pains could be caused by different circumstances in life (homelessness, hunger, loneliness caused by separation or loss of loved ones, rejection from society, etc.), but in the end, lead people to feel similar emotional pain as reflected in this video.

Most importantly, this video can impact the viewers in a positive way by making them feel compassion toward other people in society, regardless of their origin, race, color, culture and social class. This compassion for others in society is what we need. It is the tool that can trigger our desires to make a change in the life of an individual, a community, society -- and mainly in ourselves.

For instance, the first person who sings in the video, Roger Riedly, seems to be a homeless person. At the end of the song, people from the community approached his bag and made a contribution. Also, there is a possibility that the doors to the music world open up for one or more people singing and playing in this video, as an individual or company seeking new artists may become interested in them either as a singer or instrument player.

Finally, I think the creative idea of getting all these people from different parts of the world together in a single video is amazing. There is no doubt that creativity can impact our lives a lot in a positive way. Creativity not only help us to be or become creative, but it also helps us to discover the gift of the creative mind some of us already possess, but have not yet discover. At the same time, it help us to better appreciate the ideas and creative thinking of others, as well as realizing that creativity can come from anyone and anywhere. After taking the "Creativity + Social Change" class, the term “underestimate others" becomes history for some or all the students that experience this class.

Commentary: On Eve Ensler's TED Talk ... Happiness in Body and Soul

By Tiffany Ayala
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

TED Conference: February 2004
Eve Ensler, creator of The Vagina Monologues, shares how a discussion about menopause with her friends led to talking about all sorts of sexual acts onstage, waging a global campaign to end violence toward women and finding her own happiness.

Commentary:
I chose to watch this video from the TED Web site because it struck me as a piece that definitely steps outside of the boundaries. Throughout my years as a college student I have come to realize that there are many important issues where light should be shined upon. However, unfortunately the most important issues tend to be the most avoided ones. Diversity, for example, is such an important component for many students and parents when selecting colleges, but under this social umbrella of issues hang many injustices that don’t usually get addressed within the community. One of which is violence against woman.

While in college I was assigned to read The Vagina Monologues, by Eve Ensler, who is the woman in this video discussing how creative forms of art, such as creative writing and plays, have allowed her and others to spread awareness of women's sexuality and violence against women. The book was life changing and her lecture intriguing and moving. Although it is hard to accept, it does not surprise me that one in every three women will be beaten, battered or sexually assaulted in their lifetime. However, what is a pleasant surprise is the fact that through the creative art of performance and speaking out with women sharing their personal experiences, worldwide social change is possible—leading more women to share their stories while spreading the influence, providing others with hope and strength, and helping to find happiness within the body and soul.

As discussed in the course, Creativity + Social Change, there are many aspects of life in which the presence of creativity is beneficial. For example, in education, prison systems, and spirituality.

It was interesting to hear Eve Ensler make a connection to the topic of spirituality within her lecture. She referred to a Buddhist convention, which she had attended and where she was told that she would find happiness by the end of the program. Eve, on the other hand, thought the idea was obscene. She didn’t believe in happiness, and thought that only idiots were happy. How could one find happiness in a life filled with suffering and pain?

I, for one, could somewhat agree and understand Ensler’s opinion. Though at the same time, I wondered how she could say such a thing when all of those suffering women who were brave enough to share their stories with her, as well as the whole world, managed to lead so many other woman to escape; freeing themselves of the pain and suffering to then find internal happiness.

I was glad to hear Eve Ensler end her lecture referring back to the beginning where she referred to the concept of happiness. Throughout her journey around the world speaking to all sorts of women and hearing their stories she had finally come to terms with what she had come to understand as happiness—and for me to hear this was very comforting and inspirational. I would urge everyone, men and women, to think about this deeply, and consider it in your own lives, no matter who you are or what you are going through.

Ensler closes her lecture saying that happiness exists in action, through telling the truth, and giving away what you want most. Most importantly, she emphasizes that social change comes about when we give to the world what we want the most, and as a result, we heal the broken part inside each of us.

Commentary: On Ken Robinson's TED Talk ... Schools Kill Creativity

By Brooke Smith
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

TED Conference: February 2006
Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence. In this talk, he makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

Background:
I watched a video presentation from the TED Conference. The ultimate goal of TED is to highlight, study, and show how one can use the gift of human imagination. The man giving the speech was Sir Ken Robinson. He grew up in England and moved to California later in life. The speech was easy to listen to and humorous. Sir Ken Robinson used to be a university professor but now writes and speaks about creativity and education. The speech took place in Monterey, California, in February 2006 during a four-day TED Conference.

Commentary:
This video relates to our class in many ways. Sir Ken Robinson spoke about the main goal of changing our education system and how we use this system to teach our young children. He believes that creativity is the backbone to every individual and that traditional education teaches children how to conform to become studious while losing their creativity. According to him, the definition of creativity is, "the process of having original ideas that have value." In class, we spoke about this exact concern with the educational system. I believe that teachers should modify the way they attempt to conduct their classrooms. According to the video, education was created before the 1900s to meet the needs of industrialization. The most useful subjects back then were reading, writing and mathematics. This time period began steering children away from things they enjoyed because there was no future in being a musician or a dancer. Instead, the goal was to force everyone to become academic and find careers that they may not enjoy but will obtain financial success.

Sir Ken Robinson said: "We have a huge vested interest in [education], partly because it's education that's meant to take us into this future that we can't grasp." I agree with this statement. Traditional education and the subjects it deems important have become outdated. The times have changed and it is time we revamp the goal, focus and purpose of education. If we do this, we can better prepare our children for the uncertain future and the necessary skills needed to be successful today.

The speaker believed that children "all have tremendous talents, we [adults and education] squander them." How do we create schools and education to stop dismissing creativity and talent? This question was asked in class. I do not believe that there is just one change that would fix the educational system. Instead, it is many little changes such as teaching style, use of technology, etc., that would help begin a new style of learning. Children are full of imagination and talent. This is the main reason I love my job. I go to work every day and learn more from the children than they learn from me. They may not know that they do this, but I love their innocence, imaginations, ideas and passion. Children are very passionate about most of the things they do. "Kids will take a chance, even if they don't know how to do something or why they are, they still try," Robinson said. It is only through our educational eystem and adults telling children "No" that we hinder and/or stop children's creativity.

I took down many interesting things that Sir Ken Robinson said. These are just a few of the quotes that stuck with me.

• Creativity is as important now as literacy.
• If you not prepared to be wrong we will never be original.
• The challenge is how to remain an artist, because we were all born as one. (quoting Picasso)
• Highly brilliant people and brilliantly creative people no longer think this way because of being STIGMATIZED in school.

This video was easy to watch and full of valuable information on why the need to change the educational hierarchy is necessary to adequately prepare future generations. Instead, we are setting children up for failure. A degree no longer holds as much value as it once did. Everyone has them now. Instead, you have to continue your education and obtain higher degrees like a master's degree or law degree. It is time for a change to our system. How can we as individuals begin this change? Will it help future generations if we do?

A Tour of 'Creativity and Social Change' in Society ... Reimagining Difference

• The 99 - Official Site | Creator Speaking at TEDxEast | PBS Overview of The 99 and Its Creator
  

• Everyday Democracy - Organizing Study Circles in Middle Schools (video) | Engaging in Dialogue for Change on Racism