Miami University Farmer School Institute for Entrepreneurship is the new steward for World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID), April 21 and World Creativity and Innovation Week, (WCIW) April 15-21.

World Creativity and Innovation Day, April 21 was founded in 2002 when creativity specialist Marci Segal saw a newspaper banner headline that read “Canada in Creativity Crisis”.  On that day, and for close to 20 years, she stewarded the grassroots creation of World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID), April 21, the day before Earth Day. The intention was to give people both time and a reason to use creativity in problem solving to make the world a better place and make their place in the world better, too.  Over the years, World Creativity & Innovation Day grew to a week, serendipitously beginning on Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday, April 15, and ending on WCID April 21. From its humble beginning in Toronto, its celebration has spread to more than 50 nations.

In 2017, the United Nations adopted April 21, World Creativity and Innovation Day, (UN Resolution A/RES/71/284) as an international day of observance and celebrated WCID for the first time in 2018.  

Miami University’s connection to WCIW dates to 2012. Dr. Jim Friedman, Farmer School of Business creativity and innovation professor, integrated its celebration into his creativity course. He challenged students to “celebrate WCIW in some way.” The idea took root and grew into an annual weeklong celebration. A pop up “Creativity City” was conceived, constructed and staffed by creativity students and others from across the university. Over the years “Creativity City” has grown in size and sophistication, attracting and engaging students, faculty, staff, community and news media.

Friedman explained, “The Institute for Entrepreneurship is committed to empowering and teaching everyone to harness the tremendous power of creativity. We feel honored to continue Marci’s legacy and to promote and educate people around the world. Her foresight coupled with her tireless volunteer dedication over the past two decades rests in a deeply held belief that everyone has ability to generate new ideas, make new decisions, take new actions and achieve new outcomes. Her wish is that all feel welcome and secure in expressing their creativeness. Even though we celebrate World Creativity and Innovation Week for seven days, we live it daily throughout the year.”

WCIW provides everyone an opportunity to teach, share, and grow creativity as a necessary and critical life skill. This week is unique because each participating community celebrates in its own way; Celebrations vary from meetings and conversations to workshops and festivals. This time provides the creative community a purpose and a time-shared reason to grow worldwide as we reinvigorate what it means to live with and navigate new ideas, actions and outcomes.

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Also: Photos from Creativity City 2019