The Power to Create

How can we nurture and enhance the capacities that support and stimulate creative thought and action?
Our world is changing fast. The way we work, connect and communicate with each other is evolving rapidly and while no-one can entirely predict the future, one thing is certain - that creativity is an asset that is becoming more highly prized than ever, in all sectors of our society and economy. This lecture explores why we need to transform public, professional and political understanding of and attitudes to creativity, so that it becomes a key priority for families, schools, places of work and learning. 
As technology disrupts traditional areas of employment, we need to equip our young people with the kinds of creative skills that will help them thrive amidst an increasingly complex and fluid social and economic landscape. They will need to be able to approach challenges with an open and inquiring mind, to be responsive and adaptive, to think critically and expansively, to generate original, valuable ideas and bring them to life in collaboration with others. So how can we nurture and enhance the capacities that support and stimulate creative thought and action? Drawing on his experience of working with teachers and learners in the theatre and the drama studio, Mark Londesborough will examine how our very earliest "creative technology" - story-telling and the making of myths together - continues to offer inspiration for how we can instill and unleash creativity in school and beyond.

Mark Londesborough is Programme Manager, Creative Learning and Development at RSA, the Royal Society of Arts in London. He joined the RSA in September 2015, where he combines real-world project leadership with policy research and guidance on creative education.  He is currently working with the RSA's family of academy schools and a network of arts organisations in the UK's West Midlands region, to create a performing arts 'hub' that will improve outcomes for disadvantaged students. For 13 years he worked with theatre and drama in a range of educational and therapeutic contexts. After training and working as a performer and drama practitioner in prisons and probation settings, he went on to lead theatre educational and public engagement programmes, including as Creative Learning Director at the Tricycle Theatre and Schools Programme Manager at the National Theatre.