World Creativity and Innovation Day

World Creativity and Innovation Day is a United Nation initiative that calls a day to raise awareness of the role of creativity and innovation in problem-solving and by extension, in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The day was founded in 2002 by creativity Canadian psychologist Marci Segal to provide time and a reason for people to use creativity in problem-solving to generate new ideas and use imagination to take positive action in the world. The day was first commemorated in over 50 countries around the world on 21 April 2002. In 2006, #WCID became a week (#WCIW 15-21 April) to give people more time to explore together diverse points of view. April 15, the first day of #WCIW, is also Leonardo Davinci’s birthday; an icon of cross-disciplinary creativity in the arts and sciences, who exemplified how these fields can inform and enhance each other.

On April 27, 2017, UN General Assembly passed a resolution to observe April 21 as World Creative and Innovation Day starting from 2018. On April 21, 2018, the first official World Creativity and Innovation Day (#WCID) was celebrated. Observed six days after Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday and one day before International Mother Earth Day, #WCID is well-positioned to encourage creative multidisciplinary thinking to help us achieve the sustainable future we want.

Creativity is one of the most wonderful elements that define and expresses as a human our culture, having a significant role in our evolution. Individuals, families, leaders, nations, students, and groups from around the globe are invited to use their creativity to consider fresh approaches to difficult questions which will have a positive impact on some of the world’s most challenging issues.

Creativity is to see the world with a different eye, to create questions, to interpret, and to simplify the elements around you and your feelings. Creativity and innovation always guide the world. They also create ways for new job creation, income generation, etc. People who have creative and innovative ideas are contributing to inclusive social development and poverty alleviation. Creative and innovative ideas are requirements for growth strategies.

How the Creativity and Innovation Day is celebrated

On this day and week of observation, the effort is to encourage the use of creative and innovative ways. This may be in entrepreneurship or in friendship or in relationships or in problem-solving etc. That is a creative and innovative way in normal activities also. Use a different way of doing regular activities may also be an activity by which you can participate in this day’s observation.

There are many other programs and activities conduct around the world like teach new skills, have lectures and seminars on creativity and innovation, meetings and discussions on new ideas, honoring creative and innovative ideas, etc. Programs are also meaningful to the environment as the next day (April 22) is International Mother Earth Day. Social media campaigns are done for the observation with hashtags #WCID and #WCIW.

Today is all about really letting your imagination run wild, with many different ways to celebrate the day. Why not get crafty and create something handmade, or plant up a few vegetable seeds for an edible treat. Get busy in the kitchen and cook up something innovative (I’m loving sliders right now) or create a mood board made up of all your accumulated keepsakes from all the places you’ve visited in the world.