(1)

Europe needs to strengthen its capacity for creativity and innovation for social and economic reasons in order to respond effectively to the development of the knowledge society: innovative capacity is closely linked with creativity as a personal attribute, and to be harnessed to full advantage it needs to be widely disseminated throughout the population. This requires an approach based on lifelong learning.

(2)

Education and training systems should cater sufficiently and at all appropriate levels for the development of key competences to support creativity and innovation, with a view to finding innovative and original solutions in personal, occupational and social life.

(3)

The Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24 March 2000 concluded that ‘a European framework should define the new basic skills to be provided through lifelong learning’ as a key measure in Europe's response to ‘globalisation and the shift to knowledge-based economies’, and emphasised that ‘people are Europe's main asset’.

(4)

The Commission Communication of 21 November 2001 entitled ‘Making a European Area of Lifelong Learning a Reality’ and the subsequent Council Resolution of 27 June 2002 on lifelong learning (4) identified the provision of ‘the new basic skills’ as a priority and stressed that ‘lifelong learning must cover learning from pre-school age to that of post-retirement’.

(5)

Recommendation 2006/962/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning (5) identified various key competences, in particular, ‘mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology’, ‘learning to learn’, ‘digital competence’, a ‘sense of initiative and entrepreneurship’, ‘cultural awareness and expression’ and ‘social and civic competences’.

(6)

The Brussels European Council of 8 and 9 March 2007 noted that education and training are prerequisites for a well-functioning knowledge triangle (education-research-innovation) and play a key role in boosting growth and jobs. It called for particular attention to be given to stimulating the potential of small and medium-sized enterprises, including those in the cultural and creative sectors, in view of their role as drivers of growth, job creation and innovation.

(7)

Declaring a European Year of Creativity and Innovation is an effective way of helping to meet the challenges facing Europe by raising public awareness, disseminating information about good practices and promoting research and policy debate. By creating an environment for simultaneously promoting these objectives at European, national, regional and local levels, it can achieve greater synergy and critical mass than disparate efforts at different levels.

(8)

As the promotion of creativity and of a capacity for innovation through lifelong learning falls within the objectives of existing Community programmes, such a Year can be implemented by using those programmes within the existing margins which they provide for setting funding priorities on an annual or multi-annual basis; programmes and policies in other fields, such as culture, communication, enterprise, cohesion, rural development, research and the information society, also contribute to promoting creativity and a capacity for innovation and may support the initiative within their respective legal frameworks.

(9)

Since the objective of this Decision, namely to support the efforts of the Member States to promote creativity, through lifelong learning, as a driver for innovation and as a key factor for the development of personal, occupational, entrepreneurial and social competences and the well-being of all individuals in society, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,

(a)

conferences, events and initiatives to promote debate and raise awareness of the importance of creativity and a capacity for innovation;

(b)

information and promotion campaigns to disseminate key messages;

(c)

identification of examples of good practice and dissemination of information about promoting creativity and a capacity for innovation;

(d)

surveys and studies on a Community or national scale.