THE BALTIC STATES OF THE THREE SEAS INITIATIVE: ESTONIA, LATVIA AND LITHUANIA IN CREATIVE RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The presented manuscript deals with three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) that are part of the Three Seas Initiative in the context of cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. The research’s goal is analysis the larger dimension of Three Seas Initiative and its creative role and importance in the international arena, including the Middle East. In this sense, this paper asks a research question of whether the relations between Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the United Arab Emirates have the potential for deeper and broader creative dynamics of their cooperation. The presented article is the first research work of this type. Thus, it fills a gap in the literature and analyses concerning relations between the Baltic states and the United Arab Emirates. This work is primarily base on empirical research conducted for ten years. In addition, the author used his own creative experience, including as an Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (2011–2015) or Senior advisor at Expo 2020 (2016–2018), responsible for strategies and creative development of relations the United Arab Emirates with all the Three Seas Initiative countries, including Baltic states. As a result of the research, the author argues that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as a part of the Three Seas Initiative, should make this concept more creative in its external dimension, with the United Arab Emirates. Expo 2020 (1 October, 2021–31 March, 2022) provides an opportunity for creative diplomacy. This event is an occasion to demonstrate joint projects, also in global aspects.

DEVELOPMENT OF VERBAL CREATIVITY BY BILINGUAL AND ENGLISH AS FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN KINDERGARTEN TO 8TH GRADE SCHOOLS

Bilingualism has long been within the scope of creativity studies that investigate creativity and problem solving. This study aims to explore the possible effect of bilingualism on the verbal creativity of English language learners. Participants from a bilingual and an English as foreign language teaching program within the same school were selected as an experimental and a control group respectively to compare verbal creativity. A series of creative English writing tasks designed by the authors were assigned to a total of 86 third grade (aged 7–8) students. Both the English as foreign language group (N = 42) and the bilingual group (N = 44) were subject to assessment and evaluation in terms of verbal creativity. The two cohorts completed the same creative writing tasks that were then assessed by a board of five English teachers from the same school who were trained by the authors to assess verbal creativity using a Student Product Assessment Form. An independent samples Student’s t-test was conducted and descriptive statistics of both cohorts for 9 of the assessment form were analyzed. The results showed that the students on the bilingual program outperformed those on the English as foreign language program in terms of verbal creativity. The study offers implications for English language teaching in primary schools with reference to developing creative verbal language skills at early ages.

THE FAMILIAL CONTEXT OF CHILDREN’S CREATIVITY: PARENTING STYLES AND THE CLIMATE FOR CREATIVITY IN PARENT–CHILD RELATIONSHIP

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between dimensions of a constructive parenting style, (i.e. parental acceptance and autonomy granting) factors of the climate for creativity in parent–child relationships (encouragement to experience novelty and variety, encouragement of nonconformism, support of perseverance in creative efforts, and encouragement to fantasize), and parents’ visual mental imagery. 313 parents of children between 6 and 12 years of age participated in the study. The results indicated that (a) a constructive parenting style was positively related to three of four factors of the climate for creativity in the parent–child relationships, i.e. encouragement to experience novelty and variety, support of perseverance in creative efforts, and encouragement to fantasize in the parent–child relationship; (b) parents’ level of vividness of mental imagery was positively related with both parental acceptance of child and autonomy support as well as components of climate for creativity in parent–child relationship; (c) mothers scored significantly higher than fathers in exhibiting acceptance of a child; (d) parents’ gender played an important role in the relations between dimensions of constructive parenting style and factors of climate for creativity in parent–child relationships. Findings were discussed in terms of the implications for further research and theory development in the area of family influences on the development of children’s creativity.

CREATIVITY AS NEOLIBERAL SELF-GOVERNANCE

The purpose of this article is to analyze the problem of non-professional creativity in contemporary self-help literature. Creativity, an element of work organization in the post-Fordist era, has been the subject of many critical analyses. I focus on creativity as it appears in everyday life, with the support of an examination of self-help handbooks that refer to far-east traditions, at the same time being critical of the Western lifestyle. Self-help literature is viewed here as a tool aiding the neoliberal governmentality of society. I am most of all interested in how contemporary discourse on non-professional creativity promotes technologies of autonomy aimed at the production of responsible and self-sufficient individuals. I argue that creativity is today a key mechanism of governance. It is not limited to the professional sphere but is playing an increasing role in our private lives. It is used to produce more elusive and flexible forms of self-governance than more openly repressive forms of power (based on top-down order and control).

ARTS-BASED ACTION RESEARCH ON ENHANCING CHILDREN’S CREATIVITY THROUGH AFFECT WITHIN PARTICIPATORY PERFORMANCE ART AND PERFORMANCE PEDAGOGY

This article presents arts-based action research on enhancing children’s creativity through affect within participatory performance art and performance pedagogy. The study hypothesis was that children’s creativity can be enhanced by affect experienced at a performance site. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of children’s involvement in artistic performance on their creativity at a performance site. The impact of interactions at the site, the co-participating children,and the involved artists were monitored on a daily basis to collect qualitative data, which were analyzed using a general inductive approach. Objective themes relating to the variables were retrieved from the collected data and assigned codes, concepts, and keywords extracted from photographs,video recordings, and observation notes. The case under investigation was the “Nomadic Radical Academy 2020: The Good, the Bad, and the Art”, which built on a pilot event held in 2019. This research concluded that performance art can have a social and creative impact during an art event through children’s participation and can be used by performance artists and educators.

COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT IN PROMOTING KNOWLEDGE AND CREATIVITY IN FOSTERING INNOVATIONS IN THE CREATIVE ORGANIZATIONS

The topic of innovation is extremely important because it relates to the ability of organizations, urban regions and even states to remain competitive in today’s rapidly changing world. The problem for modern organizations is how to increase the scale and efficiency of innovation in modern organizations. One of the most striking modern trends that helps to generate innovation is the involvement of the organization’s stakeholders in the processes of value co-creation, encouraging their processes of collective cooperation, knowledge sharing and creative expression. Changing value creation processes are becoming a critical factor in creating innovation. Value creation has always been an essential foundation of any organization’s activities, but the targeted involvement of stakeholders in value creation is a relatively new phenomenon. The article presents a study, the aim of which is to investigate how and in what forms creative organizations – publishing houses – use the adaptability of their managed communication channels to encourage stakeholder involvement in value co-creation processes in innovation. Stakeholder involvement in the development of new ideas and projects, networking, collaboration, knowledge sharing, various non-formal learning opportunities, creation of discussion and feedback platforms as important drivers of stakeholder engagement are particularly important in fostering value-added processes in innovation.

DIRECTOR’S INTERPRETATION OF KAZAKH DANCE: DEVELOPMENT TRAJECTORIES IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF CREATIVITY

The study investigates the director’s interpretations of Kazakh dance in the perspective of creativity on the example of works dated the last quarter of the 20th – early 21st century to determine the choreography’s development vectors with taking into account the aspect of creativity. This research is based on the small and large dance performances analysis. The study relevance lies in the fact that it can become a tool for determining the expression level of the national aspect in Kazakh dance art. The results of the study show the role of creativity in the dance education and its ffectiveness in the development of Kazakh dance art. This tool is necessary for the choreographer’s worldview theoretical analysis and his/her dance interpretation, for the Kazakh choreography subsequent enrichment, and preservation of Kazakh historical identity.

THE ROLE OF SHARING CREATIVE IDEAS: PROFESSIONAL DESIGNERS ABOUT THEIR WORK

A characteristic feature of the transition from industrial to post-industrial society is basing a significant part of production on the “intangible” value (software production, audiovisual production, advertising, design, cultural activities, etc.). The individual is perceived as the main actor in management processes where professional success depends on readiness for dialogue and exchange of owned capital (not only economically). It means a different definition of work, perceiving it as an element of shaping – understood in many dimensions – social, economic and cultural relations. Dematerialization of work means therefore giving primacy to the handling of information. This phenomenon can also be seen as a manifestation of cognitive capitalism characterized as a different accumulation system which is based on knowledge and creativity, in other words, on forms of intangible investment. Therefore, it seems that it would be particularly valuable to examine the potential of groups that have this knowledge capital as the basis of their activity. The article will discuss the theoretical concept of the exchange and sharing of creative ideas in the design field. It also presents original research devoted to this issue, conducted in the environment of Polish designers.

THE DETERMINANTS OF POSITIVE CREATIVE ADAPTATION OF YOUTH IN THE POLISH-CZECH BORDERLAND

The purpose of this text is to showcase creativity in action, creativity that has been directed to fostering mutual understanding and cooperation in a culturally diverse environment – in a region that has seen ethnic conflict. The text is devoted to the analysis of the work of two interrelated organisations – the Borderland Foundation, Poland and the Center for Borderland Arts, Cultures and Nations, Poland – which for decades have been working innovatively on a complex history, together with the local community. This is a history that includes nationally and religiously diverse groups. Experiences with the local community have provided the inspiration for the Borderland Foundation and the Centre for Borderland Arts, Cultures and Nations for further creative work in art, education and history focussed on the phenomenon of borderland identity. The text is based on an analysis of both institutions’ websites, as well as interviews with their team members and project participants.

THE DETERMINANTS OF POSITIVE CREATIVE ADAPTATION OF YOUTH IN THE POLISH-CZECH BORDERLAND

The article is aimed at diagnosing the determinants of youth’s positive adaptation to changing demands of life. It is focused on the relationships between creativity and resilience. The analysis comprised youth’s adaptive competences and the resources and risks of social environment. In two measurement periods, quantitative-qualitative studies were conducted among youth in the Polish-Czech borderland. The research design enabled complex diagonal and longitudinal comparisons, which addressed: the identification and analysis of change trends, recognition of their lack, likelihood assessment of these trends in both compared cohorts. The concept of resilience was used to analyse and interpret research results. The identification was conducted of (outer and inner) risk and protective factors determining positive adaptation in the Polish-Czech borderland. The borderland effect was indicated – the impact of borderland on its inhabitants’ socialization, conditioned by spatial-social-cultural-economic properties. Attention was drawn to the forming of youth’s flexibility, ability to handle everyday situations and their resistful behaviour patterns. Borderland is a source and stimulant for acquiring the disposition of resilience. The presented analyses show tendencies and universal mechanisms of human behaviour, not only in borderlands. The article indicates the need for educational activities developing and forming resilience, for elaborating intervention programmes based on better use (in adaptation) of resources and protective factors in the environment.