As a country with just over 50 years of independence, Singapore has, for many decades, punched above her own weight on the international stage. We’re one of the most successful cities in the world, and we have the education to thank for that.
Much of Singapore’s success has been deeply rooted in our ability to survive against the odds. However, one may question how far this survivalist mentality can take us forward into SG100, after decades of trudging through excellence.
Against the unprecedented socio-environmental challenges of our shared future, we have to begin asking what a thriving nation will look like, and how we can create a culture for that to happen.
Finding roots in creativity
For a long time, the streets were crying out for help in the arts. As a growing nation, our government had its initial priorities placed in the fundamental societal needs– housing, healthcare, education.
Many of our artists were silenced and shackled, many literally behind bars. Even up till the early 21st century, Singapore continued to debate whether creativity was an “unaffordable luxury” in a society like ours.
Today, we see a huge shift in the narrative– Singaporean local theatre productions capture full-house audiences, Singaporean films are up on Netflix, our local bands play at international music festivals and visual artists have galleries that are displayed across the globe.
We have come a pretty long way.
What used to be associated with the bourgeoisie has largely made its way into the masses. Music and art lessons are even compulsory in schools. In fact, we’re beginning to see creativity not just as a form of expression in the arts, but also in the frontiers of technology, education, and policy.
Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to be selected as one of the twenty teams to join the *SCAPE Create Fellowship – a programme supported by Startup X that supports budding entrepreneurs through mentorship and guidance in the creative scene.
Also read: Three *SCAPE judges offer advice for young startups
We met passionate individuals and teams determined to make an impact in the arts — Musicians and producers for bespoke music, production houses designed to digitalise plays, dancers using tech to facilitate the creative process, ideas for the local literature scene to build community, and everything in between.
Clearly, creativity is no longer the debate it used to be. What has changed, and what’s next?
Where creativity meets innovation meets entrepreneurship
At the launch of an art exhibit just last year, former Minister of Education Heng Swee Kiat spoke of how collaboration between STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and the arts results in “the best ideas”.
Citing key leaders in the science industry and how the arts had influenced the way they saw the world, Heng raised the value of multidisciplinary learning in an increasingly global world.
The best Ideas. What do you think about when you think of the best ideas in the modern world? Is it Grab and how it married transport and food? Or Apple and how they managed to weave clean, aesthetic typography and functionality into the palm of our hand?
In a world where startups pop up every other day, and where schools prepare their students with Entrepreneurship Minors (and even majors), what really sets people apart?
Innovation has always been seen as a key part of entrepreneurship. Learning from the past to make the future better. But we also often forget that innovation is, after all, derived from the spirit of creativity.
At its root, creativity is simply the act of putting non-obvious connections together. Take apart the divide between the arts and sciences, and all the other differences we may have, we’re all problem-solvers and creatives at heart. We are people.
The question then shifts: how do we tap into the creative process to expand our minds beyond what we already know? How might we creatively problems solve?
In the schools and partners that we’ve worked with at The Maju Collective, we see things through a similar lens.
Through our eyes, the unprecedented challenges our population faces require, more than ever, collaboration and creativity. Collaboration between people who see the world differently – problem-seekers and critical minds – with those that thrive on thinking of ways to tackle things differently.
Which brings us back to education
In our start-up journey bringing quality education to developing regions, while allowing for corporates to have a stake in these areas, we have learned so much about people and the ecosystems within which they exist.
Looking at, and tackling, the socio-environmental challenges we face today is not the job of any one person, organisation or generation. It’s not about pointing fingers or feeling burdened to change the world alone. Creativity isn’t just about thinking outside of the box. It’s about thinking beyond borders, or any dimension at all.
We do what we do because we believe that education creates space. Space for creative minds, problem-seekers, problem-solvers, but also space for collaboration, friendships, empathy, values, identity-building, ownership.
Also read: 7 must-have apps to inspire entrepreneurial creativity
At the end of the day, much of who we are is a sum of our parts. What would it look like if we could nurture a generation of youth who understand the global issues they face?
How would things be different if they could own these problems and innovate through the creativity of their childhood? What would our next generation look like if their space of education could bring together problem-solving skill sets that integrate math with geography, physics with history, biology with literature, and everything else in between?
How differently would we solve the issues we face today if we could think creatively, collaboratively?
In the words of Dr. Paul Kalanithi, a promising neurosurgeon who held a Master of Arts in English Literature,
“In the end, it cannot be doubted that each of us can see only a part of the picture. The doctor sees one, the patient another, the engineer a third, the economist a fourth, the pearl diver a fifth, the alcoholic a sixth, the cable guy a seventh, the sheep farmer an eighth, the Indian beggar a ninth, the pastor a tenth.
Human knowledge is never contained in one person. It grows from the relationships we create between each other and the world, and still, it is never complete.”
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