Letters | Hong Kong students must embrace creativity to compete globally
Readers discuss the need to revamp the education system, the quest for global talent, the ombudsman’s decision to remove part of its records, and a blight on Hong Kong’s countryside
Creativity in education is often misunderstood as merely artistic talent or extracurricular enrichment. Fundamentally, creative learning involves cultivating essential skills: critical thinking, problem-solving and adaptability.
This point was brought home at last week’s Knowledge Exchange Festival in Hong Kong, organised by the non-profit organisation Aftec with funding from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. There, Professor Anne Bamford, who’s known for her research in creativity and lifelong learning, emphasised the urgent need for creative education. She said, “To cope with all these challenges – globalisation, rapid technological changes, AI – you need an immense amount of creativity.”
By contrast, Singapore scored first in the global assessment. At last week’s event, May Tan, a director at Singapore’s National Arts Council, explained how Singapore intentionally integrates creativity into education from early childhood, noting that sustained creative education significantly improves students’ adaptability and lifelong engagement.