The International Child Art Foundation (ICAF) is developing an online digital playground for children. The paper explains the need for this Virtual Creativity Playground (VCP) and outlines its content. The importance of creativity is discussed, not just in an individual context, but for societies as a whole and for the world at large. The twin challenges of the 21st century, especially in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, is to forge cross-cultural and international understanding, especially among children, and to address the ëcreativity riskí that children face, especially the 8 to 12 age group. The VCP will develop a bond among the world's children, founded on their own creativity and imagination. The purpose of the paper is to seek partnerships and support for the development of the VCP.

Importance of Creativity
Creativity is a quintessential attribute of human beings. When combined with our ability to record and benefit from accumulated knowledge, it makes us the highest-order species on the planet. People throughout history have envisioned their surroundings in new and instructive ways, producing ideas, inventions and works of art that have radically changed life and added to our understanding of the planet and its place in the universe.

We humans have not yet achieved our full creative potential primarily because every childís creativity is not properly nurtured. The critical role of imagination, discovery and creativity in a childís education is only now coming to light, and even within the educational community, many still do not appreciate its vital importance. Todayís children must be given the chance to develop their creativity to the fullest extent possible, not only for the benefit of their own future but for the community we all inhabit.

The Internet is already the most powerful medium for communication, information, education, transactions and community-building. However, the full promise of the digital revolution lies in a worldwide creativity revolution. The Internet can provide a dynamic platform where the use of knowledge, through new forms of learning, allows individuals and groups to attain their full creative potential. To bring about a creativity revolution, however, the Internetís potential as a creativity playground for children needs to be properly harnessed.

Cultural and economic imperatives
In an article written for the Center for Arts and Culture, Dr. Venturelli warns that "a culture persists in time only to [the] degree it is inventing, creating, and dynamically evolving in a way that promotes the production of ideas across all social classes and groups in nation without a vibrant labor force of artists, writers, designers, scriptwriters, playwrights, painters, musicians, film producers, directors, actors, dancers choreographers, not to mention engineers, scientists, researchers and intellectuals does not possess the knowledge base to succeed in the Information Economy, and must depend on ideas produced elsewhere." Indeed, lacking creative dynamism, seemingly productive societies can fade away, leaving behind their own peculiar parthenons, be they in concrete or virtual forms.

Today, the importance of creativity is increasingly emphasized by studies in disciplines ranging from anthropology to organizational theory and management. In economic theory, for instance, ideas and knowledge are introduced by the Growth Theorists as factors in the production equation, in addition to land, labor, capital and technology. Such an inclusion raises the possibility of increasing returns, eliminating the fear that eventually diminishing returns will set in. New ideas breed newer ideas, which add to activity and accumulated knowledge. Peter Drucker explains that "knowledge is being applied to knowledge itself. It is now fast becoming the one factor of production, sidelining both capital and labor."The New Economy is a knowledge economy, that is, a creative economy. Enhancing creative capacities is the defining challenge of the 21st century for individuals, organizations, communities and governments.

Children and Creativity
The provenance of creativity may well lie in childhood -the heart's desire to change the world, the dream to make a difference, the wish to be original. According to UNESCO, "the encouragement of creativity from an early age is one of the best guarantees of growth in a healthy environment of self-esteem and mutual respect-critical ingredients for building a culture of peace."

Traditional schooling and parenting does not generally foster a child's creativity. Limits are placed on childrenís creativity by educational systems that encourage imitation in learning rather than spontaneity and creative imagination. Moreover, standardized testing captures only the ability of students to provide "correct" answers to questions, without rectifying the thinking process that results in "incorrect"answers or accepting ambiguous but equally valid answers. Even those teachers and parents who do recognize the importance of creativity, often lack the tools and training to encourage a child's imagination and discovery.

Research on creativity documents a so-called "fourth grade slump" across cultures. Briefly, these data indicate that when children begin school, their level of creativity is evident and often flourishing. By the time they reach the fourth grade, however, they have become more conforming, less likely to take risks, and less playful or spontaneous than in earlier years. These trends continue throughout the school years and into adulthood. Hence the "creativity risk"faced by children (generally, ages 8 to 12) needs to be averted, if individuals are to attain their creative potential.

Arts, Creativity and the Internet
How can creativity be nurtured and how can the arts help in this process? There are logical connections between creativity and the arts. Creativity can be identified and nurtured, and it can augment talent development. Creative abilities and motivation are the driving power that lead us to devise, improvise, overcome obstacles, invent, plan, design, perform, change ideas, develop new conceptions, or create new paradigms. Creative ability in conjunction with skills and knowledge helps each child rise to the challenges of academics and daily life.

The arts are a dynamic force propelling children toward creativity. In other words, the arts fire the imagination, which fuels creativity. Moreover, visual arts, dance and music are language-independent mediums, which have a universal appeal. Regarding arts and technology, Professor Al Hurwitz states that ìI believe that if Da Vinci were alive today, he would be working with George Lucas -that technology exists to extend the palette of artist as well as art teacher, that video production, holography, motors, circuitry and lasers could be viewed as contemporary extensions of the paintbrush.î Paradoxically, the arts have become not only more important in the digital age, but also more varied, divergent and exciting in the global information economy. Moreover, the arts can connect us with each other, even remotely, through the new communication medium, the Internet.

The Virtual Creativity Playground
The International Child Art Foundation (ICAF) is developing a Virtual Creativity Playground (VCP) portal, aimed at children ages 8 to 12. An initial website will be launched in June 2003 for beta testing at our children's "Arts Olympics" in Washington, DC -- the largest international childrenís festival in the world. At the festival, an international marketing campaign for the VCP will be launched.
The VCP is expected to be an intergenerational site: adults will develop the site, and the children will then modify, enhance and augment it. As children learn how to be creative using the VCP, they will suggest modifications and additions to the site, so that younger children can benefit from their experiences. This collaboratively creative process will be repeated with every generation.

The main objective of the VCP is to teach children how to be creative. The VCP will be a place where childrenís aesthetic awareness, creativity and artistic skills are challenged, enhanced, displayed and analyzed. It will provide a safe environment for children to "play"with their imagination. Children will utilize the web playground to develop their ideas and share their creativity with other children across the United States and around the world. They will learn about the power of ideas and images, of imagination and discovery. The VCP will be free of bias, so children everywhere will feel welcome. The VCP's universality will be fueled by the conviction that everyone has the gift of creativity and should have access to a variety of avenues to express it. The VCP will present the world as seen through the eyes of children and will strive to provide a safe haven, where children can imagine, discover, create, innovate, communicate and cooperate. More..