On April 21, 2018, the first official World Creativity and Innovation Day (#WCID) was observed across the globe supported by UN Agencies and educational institutions. According to the UN, the observance is meant to encourage creative multidisciplinary thinking for a sustainable future.
The UN holds that creativity and innovation, at both the individual and group levels, have become the true wealth of nations in the 21st century.
A special edition of a remarkable 2013 Creative Economy Report titled "Widening local development pathways" has been co-published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) through the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).
According the report, the creative economy; which includes audiovisual products, design, new media, performing arts, publishing and visual arts, is a highly transformative sector of the world economy in terms of income generation, job creation and export earnings. Culture is an essential component of sustainable development and represents a source of identity, innovation and creativity for the individual and community.
The report is worth a read, especially for rural areas which often experience a "lock out" from the global economy, restrained by many of the barriers to developed experienced by entire nations in the global south. Among the points of note is Chapter 5: "Critical Factors in Providing New Pathways for Local Development."
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