“Creativity is the art of imagining what is possible beyond what is known now,” says Julia Gillard. In this video, Australia’s former Prime Minister and and Board Chair of the Global Partnership for Education talks about creativity and the need to inspire young people to discover their passions and follow them. She also highlights the importance of guaranteeing universal access to primary education, since creativity becomes relevant once literacy and numeracy skills have been attained.
There is a tremendous change going on in education, Ms Gillard says. We are trying to ensure that every child in the world goes to primary school and at the same time an interesting conversation is going on about making schooling more creative. There is a global quest to foster problem-solving skills and resilience, and enhance creative abilities in a changing world where the need to constantly reinvent ourselves is becoming imperative.
For Ms Gillard, achieving universal primary education remains a top priority. “When we talk about creativity in education, I am always very keen to remind people that we can’t forget the basics,” she says. “If children don’t become literate and numerate through their schooling, then everything else is going to fall by the wayside.”
According to Ms Gillard, we have to cover these basics, and once we’ve covered them, we need to expand children’s imagination and boost their professional development ambitions. She invites young people to think about the passion that drives them and to focus their energies on fulfilling it. “What really matters in the long term is having a sense of purpose and passion,” she adds.
This interview was filmed for the 2014 World Innovation Summit for Education.