WORLD CREATIVITY DAY and Summit

 We ask what people think about the global environmental situation, and what they most care about the environment.

 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: What is World Creativity and Innovation Week/Day?

 World Creativity & Innovation Day was founded in 2001 by a Canadian woman, Marci Segal, who had studied creativity at SUNY Buffalo (University at Buffalo, New York) .

 Her purpose was to remind and encourage people to use their creativity to make the world a better place and to make their place in the world better too. She chose April 21 to commemorate the date – the day before International Mother Earth Day, to emphasize the importance of using new thinking to create a decent life for all on a sustainable planet.

 In 2006, WCID became WCI WEEK, ending on the same date. Plans are in place to soon possibly make the celebration year-round – but the DAY will remain and always will be the day before Earth Day. In fact, in 2017, the United Nations made WCID an official UN Day of Observance, cementing its place in the calendar. So from the beginning, the connection between creativity and environment has been at the core of this commemoration. These back to back days show us that of all the ways to use imagination productively and for the good of humanity, our environment may be the most important. Indeed, last year, the WCIW focussed WCIW on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. What are the SDGs? The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The 17 SDGs are integrated—they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability. Countries have committed to prioritize progress for those who're furthest behind. The SDGs are designed to end poverty, hunger, AIDS, and discrimination against women and girls. It’s an ambitious list! As you can see, fully half of the SDGs are directly related to the environment:

 2 - Good Health and Well-Being

 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation

 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy

 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities 

12 - Responsible Consumption and Production 

13 - Climate Action 

14 - Life Below Water

 15 - Life on Land 

 Many of the rest are certainly very connected to the environment, too: No poverty, Zero Hunger, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, Reduction of Inequality – all of these require a healthy planet! Also notice the last of the goals, number 17: Partnerships for the Goals – which applies directly to a question we are asking:

 How Might Creativity Empower these goals?

 What is the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration?

 In order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, ecosystem degradation must be stopped and restoration undertaken on a massive scale. All environments, from forests and oceans to Savannahs and Peatlands, need support. Global ecosystem restoration will also help us build back from COVID19, prevent future pandemics, and create millions of jobs. Investment in ecosystem restoration can yield a 10x of economic benefits. There are hundreds of thousands ecosystem restoration initiatives already in place around the world. But there are not enough resources to support them. The Decade for Ecosystem Restoration runs until 2030 and is designed to provide a platform for governments, private sector companies, civil society and local communities to help restore our planet’s health. The goal is to restore the relationship between humans and nature by expanding healthy ecosystems and halting their degradation. There is a special focus also on the roles of indigenous people, women, and youth. How can we scale up existing restoration initiatives? How can we create effective new initiatives? What are the best practices for designing, implementing, and sustaining such initiatives?  A welcome poem to remind us the importance of what we are dealing with in Ideas World Cup can be watched in the next section of the CYF platform. The author and voice of this beautiful poem based it on creativity ideas collected from across the globe.

 How might we ….. Discussed other possible initiatives.

 (here’s a beginning of a list): - Create poetry, music, artworks that address and call attention to the situation - Use creative divergence and convergence techniques to help think of new ideas for new or existing restoration projects - Bring creativity AND environmental education more intentionally into our schools ?