Upon Malta’s accession to the European Union in May 2004 Dr. Edward de Bono launched the World Centre for New Thinking in Malta, principally to place the need for New Thinking and the new ideas and concepts generated at EU level on a neutral non-representative platform.
Mr Joseph Woods, Innovation Manager at the World Centre for New Thinking, has participated in Lisbon Council meetings for the past three years. As a result of this and the recommendation of the Lisbon Council to the DG Education and Culture office responsible for the European Year for Creativity and Innovation, the World Centre for New Thinking entered into contact with the EU office responsible for the 2009 year dedicated to Creativity and Innovation.
In December 2008 Dr Edward de Bono met with Jan Figel, the Commissioner for DG Education and Culture at the preliminary meeting of the EU Commission with a select group of appointed EU ambassadors for 2009 for the media launch of the year.
The 23 ambassadors appointed for Creativity and Innovation include:
Ferran Adrià Acosta (ES) - Creative chef
Esko Tapani Aho (FI) - Executive Vice-President, Nokia
Karlheinz Brandenburg (DE) - Researcher, information and communication technology
Jean-Philippe Courtois (FR) - President, Microsoft International
Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker (BE) - Dance choreographer
Ján Ďurovčík (SK) - Dance choreographer
Richard Florida (US) - Author on the creative class
Jack Martin Händler (SK) - Conductor
Antonín Holý (CZ) - Chemist
Remment Lucas Koolhaas (NL) - Architect, urban planner
Damini Kumar (IE) - Designer and inventor
Dominique Langevin (FR) - Physicist
Rita Levi-Montalcini (IT) - Nobel laureate, neurologist
Áron Losonczi (HU) - Architect
Bengt-Åke Lundvall (DK) - Researcher on innovation
Javier Mariscal (ES) - Designer
Radu Mihăileanu (RO) - Film director
Blanka Říhová (CZ) - Microbiologist
Ken Robinson (UK) - Author on creativity and innovation
Ernő Rubik (HU) - Architect, designer
Jordi Savall i Bernadet (ES) - Musician
Erik Spiekermann (DE) - Typography designer
Philippe Starck (FR) - Designer
Christine van Broeckhoven (BE) - Molecular geneticist
Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson (SE) - Director, Karolinska Institutet
These Ambassadors come from a wide variety of fields of knowledge and have all distinguished themselves through their creative approach to their chosen area of specialisation. They have been brought together by the EU at a time when the need to rekindle the spirit of innovation and creativity in Europe is of particular relevance. With economic, cultural and social focus shifting away from the older economies of Europe and towards emerging nations on other continents, Europe feels the need to re-establish the stimuli and processes to generate a spirit of innovation on all levels of society: social, cultural, economic and scientific. The greatest creative minds in Europe have been brought together to participate in the European Year of Creativity and Innovation to contribute towards this process.
On the 19th December 2008, the World Centre for New Thinking issued its first World Thinking Report which was carried by the International Press Agencies: a copy may be obtained on request.
In January 2009 the Czech Republic took over the Presidency of the European Union and the formal inauguration and first working meeting of the Ambassadors for Creativity and Innovation took place in Prague.
The respect and interest in the methods and formal tools for creativity developed by Dr Edward de Bono over the past 40 years was clearly visible as Dr. de Bono was seated to the right of Esko Aho, the former Prime Minister of Finland and the Chair for the meeting, and emerged as the referral point for most issues on the agenda.
