GCI Getting on the Ground
GCI, an emerging international organization with a vision of seeking, archiving, celebrating, and sharing global examples of creativity and innovation, as well as the motivations behind them, has evolved significantly since its inception at Southern Oregon University’s Creativity Conference in 2022 (Byock et al., 2024). The year 2024 was particularly transformative, marked by the launch of the GCI podcast (Knudsen, 2024) hosted by Tanya Knudsen, where creativity gurus and researchers share their current perspectives on the state of creativity and creativity research, and the creation of the GCI LinkedIn page (Global Creativity Initiative, 2023) which engages members through sharing information and updates about upcoming creativity events and conferences. Additionally, GCI hosted its first International Creativity Symposium in collaboration with the artistic community, Art in Malakta, in Finland, held on September 16-17, 2024.
Bold Visions Becoming Creative Realities
GCI has found its niche as a dynamic global network that connects creativity organizations, higher education institutions, K-12 schools, and community organizations to foster collaboration, research, and innovation across the world. Since its inaugural meeting at the 2022 SOU Creativity Conference, GCI has expanded its global network online to create a thriving platform for creative exchange and collaboration. These include podcasts with creativity thought leaders, co-sponsored creativity events and presentations, and publications. GCI also developed and curates a virtual archive of resources, including open-access research publications, videos, and other artifacts, ensuring accessibility to everyone.
GCI serves as a hub for creativity-related networking, collaboration, and innovation. GCI cultivates a global community committed to advancing creativity by organizing and participating in international events, including presentations at the Knowledge, Innovation & Enterprise ( KIE) conferences in Madrid (2023) and Rome (2024) and its inaugural International Creativity Symposium in Finland (2024). Partnerships with centers from around the world exemplify GCI’s commitment to creativity, sustainability, and inclusion. Partnerships include Finlands’ Aalto University and Art in Malakta, Ireland’s Dublin City University Centre for Possibility Studies, and the United Kingdom’s KIE, and SOU’s Creativity Conference in Ashland, Oregon; Buffalo State University’s Center for Applied Imagination in Buffalo, New York, and the Freddie Reisman Center (FRC) for Translational Research in Creativity and Motivation in Philadelphia, PA. GCI seeks to amplify creative activities at individual, community, national, and international levels, toward the goal of creating a shared understanding of creativity’s transformative power and the global importance it can have.
GCI’s mission is to create an expanding global network to collaborate in developing and sharing diverse innovations, creative plans, and related actions and outcomes across countries and cultures that can broaden our member’s minds and invite new possibilities. As a global network, GCI is sparking new collaborations, driving innovative research, and building a global culture of creativity that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries. Capitalizing upon GCI’s successes to date, these global network connections among members will lead to new collaborations, novel research, and lay a rich foundation for mutual understanding in the varying views and uses of creativity to solve problems. GCI is committed to continued development of its transdisciplinary global network from which all its members can learn, strengthen connections, and understanding among themselves regarding the diverse roles that creativity has across countries and cultures. This will enable individuals to envision new possibilities for creativity to engage in collective problem-solving and promote new discoveries.