​Your unique blend of imagination and creativity, is the starting point for creating solutions for a flourishing planet. As a speaker at the International Symposium on the Real-World Impact of Creativity, hosted by Webster University Geneva’s Center for Creativity & Innovation, on 6th December 2019, I shared the why, how and what of how I use wellbeing tools with innovation challenges to inspire radical solutions for a flourishing planet.

Alongside academics specialising in researching creativity and innovation, I shared the insights and experience from my work, particularly with youth and start-up entrepreneurs, talking about 'A Different Starting Point to Create Solutions for a Flourishing Planet.'
 
"We need radical solutions to truly tackle challenges in communities and at a global scale, which means we need a new generation of intra- and entrepreneurs with the courage, vision and skills to imagine and design around flourishing, for flourishing of people and planet.

We need to cultivate the conditions for people to show-up in their organisations in this way, to create their best solutions and challenge the status quo. That means connecting them to their unique creativity and giving them the space to explore and discover.

Bringing together wellbeing tools and innovation challenges, provides a new lens to look through and ‘change-maker spaces’ to play with ideas, break entrenched rules, take risks and change perspective to generate innovative solutions; as well as building complex problem-solving, design and systems thinking skills." 

It's Global Entrepreneurship Week 2019! 

Join us on Thursday at Webster University Geneva where we'll be using wonder, love and reverse engineering in an innovation challenge, to deepen your creativity and unlock greater innovation in your solutions! 

Inspiring students to take climate action means equipping them with the right tools.

I ran an innovation challenge with students from Lemania-Verbier International School (LVIS) on 1st November 2019, exploring how to make Verbier a sustainable ski resort by 2030.

Flow In Action innovation challenges use design thinking to build student wellbeing, problem-solving skills and plant the seeds for real projects to happen.

First, we imagined and downloaded ideas. Second, we reverse engineered to the present day to understand how we get there. Using futures-thinking as our starting point, we dreamed bigger to bring in new perspectives and insights; exploring what we need to do to make it happen, opens up the incredible space of understanding impact. Finally, we uploaded ideas onto the Flow In Action Hazu edtech platform, so that they were captured as part of a global library.

Why do it this way? This style of challenge-based learning, makes a space for every student to show up with their unique creativity and become a problem-solver, enabling them to explore essential questions about impact on people and planet, so that they can adapt solutions to respect and protect.

Plus, it’s practicing and embedding the design and systems thinking skills recognised as essential future-of-work skills for Industry 4.0, if not the most vital. This learn to move mountains® approach becomes people and planet-centred design-thinking, empowering students as the innovator and entrepreneurs of the new decade.

Watch this space then. From a hyperloop inspired vertical transport system to, and around, the resort; to fully solar-powered housing; to telecabines which carbon-capture. Take a look here.
To turn these ideas into reality, students had fantastic insights on repurposing existing solar panels, incentivising different behaviour of residents and tourists; thinking about ways to manage the value chain, so as not to cause more damage and move away from a consume/dispose culture.

[Coursera Global Skills Index: https://www.coursera.org/gsi] 

#flowinaction #purejoyofcreating #imagination #ideas #creativity #innovation #entrepreneurship #wonder #lovefortheplanet #sustainability #sdgs #climateaction #designthinking #humancentreddesign #peopleandplanetcentreddesign #designforflourishing #flourishing  #playwithideas 

Delighted and excited to be a speaker on 6th Dec at the Webster Center for Creativity & Innovation International Symposium: The Real World Impact of Creativity

Thank you to Dr Vlad Glaveneau for inviting me.

​Find out more and sign up:
https://wcci.webster.ch/events/international-symposium-the-real-world-impact-of-creativity/
​

In the UK, the Durham Commission on Creativity & Education was published in mid-October, citing:

"The increasing recognition of the economic and social value of creativity and creative thinking has brought a fresh urgency to the development of entrepreneurship and the skills of the future workforce."

This is extraordinarily well-timed as Global Entrepreneurship Week 2019 takes place 18th – 24th November.

Why celebrate GEW in your school? Because it is a fantastic way to build youth wellbeing, complex problem-solving skills and solutions to challenges in your community.

How does it help? Children and youth can celebrate by using their unique creativity* to play with ideas for solutions on taking action for people and planet.

What can they do? Use a Flow In Action Innovation Challenge Toolkit as an easy-to-use, one-stop solution that you can use immediately.

Flow In Action Innovation Challenges are interactive challenge-based activities, using people and planet-centred design thinking* as an approach to:

• Building youth wellbeing through the design process itself;
• Developing complex problem-solving and critical and creative thinking skills; and
• Empowering youth to go from idea to action in their communities.

Here are 3 options:

1. Sustainable School Innovation Challenge Toolkit: You can get this straight away, complete with online access to the full toolkit on the Flow In Action Hazu platform and the space to upload 30 ideas to create a visual impact library. You can use the innovation challenge as a rapid download activity or follow the lessons in full. Either way, you're planting seeds.
 
2. Tailored Innovation Challenges + Toolkit: We'll talk and I will design with you an innovation challenge specific to your community's needs, to use with the online challenge Toolkit.
 
3. Youth Entrepreneurship Workshops: Get in touch to talk about me running one or more face-to-face entrepreneurship workshops on-site at your school. 

* The Coursera Global Skills Index 2019 identifies design thinking at the number 1 skill required across 7/10 industries.

As part of our preparations, wherever you are in the world, use this wonder activity with your young people to connect them more deeply to their creativity as the new generation of innovators and entrepreneurs taking action for people and planet. 

I'd love to hear from you to talk about how we can work together to empower children and youth. Email elaine@flowinaction.org to arrange a time to explore further. ​

When was the last time you remember feeling wonder? 
Can you remember?
Can you picture what you were looking at or thinking about?

I’m asking, because wonder is a powerhouse, creating a chain reaction to real and radical impact in what you do.  
 
Here’s the basic equation of what I do in my work with you:

Reconnect you to your unique blend of creativity,
Using seemingly innocuous wellbeing tools, (like wonder)
To open-wide the doors to your capacity to innovate,
So that you can show up to make change happen in your spaces.
 
What I’m doing with you, to you, for you is people and planet-centred design thinking …for people and planet-centred innovation and entrepreneurship. Cool, eh? 

It starts in that space before ideas and ends up where you’re risktakers, changemakers, rulebreakers.

You’re unprecedented, so truly, it is important that you’re using these wellbeing tools to flourish, so that you can imagine, design and create solutions for the flourishing of others and the planet. 

Anyway, back to wonder. As a powerhouse.

I prescribed wonder back in March 2019 and I’m excited to be running a workshop with Wonder expert, Dr Vlad Glaveneau, Director of Webster Center for Creativity & Innovation on 21st November 2019 as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2019 in Geneva.

Save The Date, details here in the link and join us at 16.00 – 18.00 + apero. 

We’ll be using wonder, love and a rapid download innovation challenge, with some insights from Scott Poynton to shake things up, to give you tools and bring new perspectives on innovating.

#flowinaction #wonder #love #gew2019