http://worldcreativity.wordpress.com,  www.creativityday.org

April 21st, Creativity and Innovation Day, is a time to celebrate our human capacity for initiating meaningful, responsible, knowledgeable and impactful change.

All people around the world can choose to use their creativity to improve and change their lives and to build a better world. We can choose to generate new ideas and choose to do things differently. April 21st is the time to remember you, as part of humanity, can make the choice to be creative and to use this gift to make our world a better place - locally and globally.

History

Marci took the idea of an annual Creativity and Innovation Day to the 47th Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI), held in Buffalo NY, in June 2001. People from all over the world have been gathering there annually for nearly 50 years to develop their creative capacities and network with leaders in the field of creativity. Support for CID at CPSI was immediate and strong.

During July and August 2001 Marci created an e-group <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CID-IW> and an e-mail address, to facilitate communication among charter celebrants and CID leaders. People from France, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, the US and of course Canada declared their intention to build and celebrate Creativity and Innovation Day in their countries and communities.

CID steering groups were initially formed in Windsor, Ontario Canada, Paris France, Toronto, Ontario Canada and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In early 2002 Marci entered Fast Company Magazine's "Fast 50" contest to promote the idea of CID. People noticed, and the contest generated additional local CID organizing groups in Buffalo, NY and Sydney Australia.

Research on significant creativity events occurring around the April 21st date resulted in a fortunate discovery. Leonardo Da Vinci's 550th birthday is celebrated on April 15, 2002. Da Vinci is an icon of creativity. He and his work are held in high esteem all over the world because he models how new thinking can arise from employing diverse disciplines, like engineering and art. Springboarding from Da Vinci seemed a serendipitous blessing. As a result, CID events often start on April 15th and run for seven days. This period of time is known as Idea Week. CID is an evolving story, sure to be universally recognized very soon.

Ideas generated during the CID Workshop at the 48th Annual Creative Problem Solving Institute in Buffalo, New York Thursday June 20, 2002
Compiled by Marci Segal

• contact congress person (or member of parliament) to mention creativity and innovation on the floor of the house (or in the house of commons) during that (April 15-21) week
• get city mayors to declare creativity and innovation day.
• create a local network
• organize exchanges between the people of the cid website
• do it‚ and trust the process
• organize forums at lunch time
• a day with teachers
• a creative walk
• solution partnering.com‚ for civic solutions
• civic solutions committees in the cities
• facilitators without borders
• chamber of commerce involvement
• collectively capture all initiatives with stories, pictures, examples, publish a book and share on local radio
• creativity talks
• creative cafe
• thinking expeditions
• build the tunnel of imagination
• build the tent of miracles
• challenge your clients to celebrate it
• put info on every email
• our award - Leonardo

 Home and Personal
* Meet a friend for coffee and talk about creativity
* Calling your most innovative friend and congratulating them
* Take action on something you have always wanted to do
* Get out the crayons, then break em in half
* Lay down and dream about what could be in your life
* Throw a party and ask everyone to dress creatively
* Ask your spouse or significant other what was the most creative thing s/he did today
* Try a new position with your spouse
* Read a book about art
* Read a book about technology
* Read a book about anything you are interested in
* Draw a picture even if you can't draw
* Play the piano even if you can't play
* Generate 100 ideas on how to solve your most vexing problem
* Go to a Second City performance
* Buy a CD in a genre of music you don't listen to before, ask for advice from an expert in that genre
* Go dancing
* Go to the zoo
* Make a collage
* Find an object on the street that represents you
* Think of 25 ways to say Thank You
* Think of 25 ways to answer the question "How are you?"
* Interview the guy/gal behind the counter at your favorite coffee shop, dry cleaners, fast food spot
* Ask your greengrocer, doctor, teacher, if s/he knows who would have been 550 years old, this week
* Try a new food or cuisine you've never tried before
* Dye your hair
* Draw 25 hearts that look different
* Have children make a list of what they wish for in life
* Make some cookies and have the children decorate them
* Make a dream box
* Write down things you want to release, then burn it
* Send a letter to yourself from the future
* Use color
* Notice something in your environment you've never noticed before
* Create something for your window or garden to express your impression of creativity week
* Organize a creativity walk
* Organize a creativity breakfast

Work or Business or Invention
* Make a list of things that need innovation or creativity, products, services, processes
* Spend a day (or a week) just watching your customer use your product or service
* Actually use the office suggestion box
* Drive to work a different way even if it takes longer -- every day for a week
* Give the boss a list of 20 things to help the company make more money
* Ask your employees to come up with 20 ideas on how the company can make more money
* Ask your employees/boss for 20 ideas on how to make the work environment more fun and conducive to creative thinking
* Read a book on applied creativity (see list here)
* Take a day off to play
* Use color
* Use colored pencils
* Always have an unlined notebook and a writing instrument around to record your brilliant ideas
* Keep Model Magic compound on your desk
* Visit an art supply store
* Announce that your organization is going to be more innovative and have a party to celebrate
* Notice something in your environment you've never noticed before
* Talk to a fellow employee you never talk to
* Plan a brainstorming session weekly
* Get a problem in your head and go to the Chicago Fine Art Museum and search the art objects for answers to your problem
* Attend the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) in June

The theme for the first CID celebration was"Admit it. You're Creative!" This theme reflected a first step in becoming more creative and innovative: awareness and recognition of our basic human ability to generate visions, new ideas, new criteria and new solutions. Those who joined in the CID celebrations experienced their creative power, felt the joy of expressing themselves, savored the experience of setting goals and made plans to make this a better world.

Basic Principles of Creativity and Innovation Day

There are many ways of expressing creativity. One of the basic principles behind CID is that events and activities will be organized at the local level, in towns, cities, companies, schools, and so on based on the notion of "think globally, act locally." Groups and individuals are encouraged to invent ways to celebrate and honour creativity and innovation in their areas.

Creativity and Innovation Day: Vision, Dream and Promise

The vision for CID is to have thousands people in towns, cities & villages, schools & hospitals, factories & houses of worship, and all kinds of organizations all over the world celebrating our human ability to create by the year 2006 or earlier.

The dream of CID is a better world, one where we choose to take the time and energy to defer judgment to consider and generate ideas to improve or change the status quo in meaningful, responsible, impactful and knowledgeable ways, and to do so with others in the spirit of collaboration so we may

· build alternative ways to resolve conflicts
· build communities and sustainability
· learn from each other
· solve problems and challenges that face us all in creative and innovative ways

The promise of CID is to provide a time and space for us to explore and learn about our creative abilities and to use them to make our lives better. We can honour those who have preceded us with innovations in the arts, sciences, technology and social movements and use their examples as models for us when we choose to use our creativity.

Creativity and Innovation Day: A Global Initiative, a Human Project

Creativity and Innovation Day was conceived by a Canadian and elaborated upon people living in Canada, France, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa and the United States. Yet it is really a human project. Creativity and Innovation Day activities and celebrations are borderless because all humans share the gift of creativity.

Creativity and Innovation Day: An Invitation

You are invited to take the initiative and organize CID celebrations in your community or school and to share your intent and news of your celebration with others from around the world. Creativity and Innovation Day celebrations are each local initiatives that support the Vision, the Dream and the Promise.

At the least, CID provides a time and space where people can feel comfortable expressing their creative abilities, a place where innovation can thrive, and a system of communication so that people all over the world keep informed and feel part of a truly global event.

April 21 2002 marked the beginnings of our better world.

Forming A Local CID "Steering Group” In Your Community: Excitement and Disappointment
Getting a CID program going in your community is both a challenge and an opportunity. It is challenging because, like all community-based efforts, it takes a lot of work involving many people. Moreover, many initial efforts fail. On the plus side, opportunity is that as a local CID organizer, you will get noticed in your community as a leader and as a person who values and has skills in the creative process, and this can open new vistas for you.
A Brief Background
Windsor Ontario is in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. This city of 200 000 hugs the US-Canadian border, and is surrounded by Essex County, a mix industrial and agricultural region of approximately 180 000 people. Windsor is an industrial city, focused on building automobiles and auto parts. It is economically liked with the great industrial expanse, stretching from Chicago to Quebec City.Perhaps the most striking characteristics of this city is its generosity and its humbleness. Pretension just doesn’t happen here. Amongst other things, Windsor is the home for over 50 patent holders and few people know about this. We have world class mould making shops, artists, an excellent symphony orchestra, theater, a university and a college. The theme of CID 2002, "Admit it! You’re Creative,” was perfect for our community. Windsor and Essex County now had an opportunity to celebrate its creative citizens next spring under the guise of Creativity and Innovation Day.

Getting Started
Organizing CID 2002 stated with an informal coffee with a couple of people I knew were creative. One was graphic artist and a creativity trainer/consultant and the other an educator, theater director, and musician. We met in early September 2001 and agreed to find a few other people to get together in late September, 2001. Our model was simple. We wanted to bring together people from three communities: education/social services, business/industry and the arts community. The first meeting attracted 9 people and 3 regrets. We called ourselves WECID (Windsor-Essex Creativity and Innovation Day) Steering Group.

Our aim was to organize a weeklong celebration of creativity. Because we have a large and active Italian community, we planned to begin on April 15, celebrating the 550th birthday anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci. This the next 6 days would be filled with school-based activities, community lectures, and other events culminating with a "big” event Sunday April 21, which is CID.
Disappointment
Five WECID planning meetings were held from October through to March. Attendance began to drop off, accelerated by the career re-locations by two key members. Our intial "grand” plans were toned down. Once meeting resulted in only two people showing up because inclement weather. Finally, in early March 2002, I suggested that there was too little energy to continue. Others agreed and we decided to regroup in a few months to aim for CID 2003.
What We Learned
First, enthusiasm is not enough. Second, the right "mix” of people must get involved. The artistically inclined and business-minded do not automatically get along. Over time, the Steering Group survivors were the artists who, in our case, were not as skilled as the business people in organizational skills.
Tips
Following are a few things we have learned so far in building an CID program in Windsor-Essex.
1. Build and continue to build a broad coalition of people. Not everyone needs to be on the Steering Group. Target no more than 15 people. Make sure that the arts, and, business, and education, and community groups are involved. Remember that this is about celebrating creativity in its many manifestations.
2. Be committed. One person must be "in charge” at the local level. Getting people to meetings, keeping in touch, drafting letters, agenda and so on are the "dog work” of community organizing. This is not a glamorous job. Leadership skills and courage are the main ingredients.
3. Expect disagreement. This is normal in group process. Remember the four stages of group development: "forming”, "storming,” "norming,” and "performing.” If you haven’t "stormed” (having disagreement), then you are not making progress. Respond to conflict creatively. Once you move into "norming” (agreeing how you will work together as a team), you will start to make some real progress.
4. Start looking for money early. CID is not free. You need money to promote the event. Bring on creative people from local business who will find the money if they see benefit. You don’t need much, but you need some financial resources.
5. That being said be careful of getting too close to sponsors. Keep you independence as much as you can. This is a community event and make sure that your remind your steering group of this from time to time.
6. You’re into this for the long term. If you choose to build a community based effort, cherish it as you main job for the next few months. Learn to listen and be open to new ideas. In other words, use your creativity to make this work.
7. Finally, stay in touch. Tell you CID friends what working and what is not. Learn from failure. Post your successes and disappointments on the yahoo e-group.

Vision and Brief History

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