CULT

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION BY THE COMMITTEE ON CULTURE AND EDUCATION

Kids of the future: Since 1990, children have become less able to produce unique and unconventional ideas. In a generation where innovation and entrepreneurship are the keys to future development, how should the EU foster innovation in the workforce, while also promoting creativity inside its educational systems?

Submitted by: Imme Bosman (NL), Dunya Bouzerda (NL), Isabel Denkers (NL), Esin Esendemir (TR), Ellena Geurts (NL), Wiske Grünwald (NL), Femke Kappe (NL), Key Lagerweij (NL), Alex Nowak (NL), Lucia Scotto Di Apollonia (NL), Henning Undheim (Chairperson NO)

The European Youth Parliament,

  1. Realising that creativity1 as a skill is essential and can be improved,
  2. Recognizing that the majority of schools are not actively teaching students creative thinking,
  3. Deeply alarmed that the current education system fails to stimulate creativity and curiosity in their students,
  4. Keeping in mind the importance of creativity in solving the future problems of an ever-changing world in an innovative way,
  5. Deeply troubled by the uniform expectations towards students set within the educational system,
  6. Deeply concerned by the limited flexibility for individual students to progress through the educational system according to their personal interests and passions,
  7. Acknowledging that lack of space for individuality or creativity can lead to mental health issues,
  8. Noting with concern that educational testing systems focus more on a student’s ability to reproduce information than on practical skills and creative thinking;


Education and curriculum

  1. Encourages the Ministries of Education in Member States to broaden the use of educational methods with:
    1. audio-visual information, 
    2. project-based learning;
  2. Hopes Member States stimulate creative thinking at a young age by:
    1. introducing a wide range of creative activities in kindergartens and pre-schools,
    2. providing equal funding for schools,
    3. supporting voluntary community trips for young children;
  3. Congratulates the Member States for supporting extracurricular activities and exchange programs like Erasmus +2;
  4. Invites Ministries of Education to support schools in making extra-curricular activities not contingent on students’ grades;

Workforce

  1. Suggests the Education and Training 2020 Working Groups3 invite workers to participate in creative thinking and problem solving trainings by:
    1. increasing the number of seminars and trainings available at the workplace,
    2. providing funding for such programmes;

Standardisation and individuality

  1. Further invites Member States to accommodate for schools to provide students with the opportunity to follow courses at their own pace;
  2. Advises the Member States to have the option of multi-format testing4 available for students beside obligatory tests;
  3. Welcomes the Ministries of Education to create more space for individuality and creativity in the educational system;
  4. Further encourages Member States to shape their education systems to allow students to fully express their passions and talents.

Footnotes:

  1. Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.
  2. Erasmus+ started out in 1987 as one of the first European education initiatives. The Programme reaches over 9 million youth across Europe, and aims at providing alternative educational experiences in a variety of areas, such as vocational education, adult education and educational exchanges.
  3. ET Working Groups are designed to help Member States address the key challenges facing their education and training systems, as well as common priorities agreed at the European level.
  4. Multi-format testing refers to different ways of organising tests in school, such as projects, film- and audio assignments.