Cecilia Weckstrom

Last week I had the immense pleasure of participating in the annual LEGO Idea Conference, bringing together partners, friends and collaborators from near and far around this years topic of Systematic Creativity. A day packed with inspiration and thought-provoking talks, as well as hands-on activities brought the concept to life and spawned many an inspired discussion around this complex, but fascinating topic.

The day started with a profound and exciting introduction to the topic by our CEO, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, explaining how the LEGO system is almost unique in its ability to channel both the scientific kind of creativity (solving a specific problem) along with the artistic kind of creativity (expressing our imagination, feelings and emotions through metaphors) simultaneously – recognising that human creativity is very much a mix of both, an enriched dialogue between the left and the right brain hemispheres and a system as the LEGO build system is probably the most versatile physical build system or tool out there enabling children of all ages to explore the full spectrum of creativity, their own imagination and creative potential.

We furthermore had the pleasure to welcome artist Olafur Eliasson to share with us his reflections on time, space and orientation, how creativity in the context of these profound principles that govern our world and our lives can help us transform the way we see and relate to the world. Great contributions from Dr. Thomas Wolbers from the University of Edinburgh on neuroscience and a fascinating angle on navigation and orientation under the headline of giving the mind a hand and give the hand a system. Professor David Gauntlett outlined the importance of the social dimension in creativity in his talk on Making and Connecting and not to mention the passionate speech by Thorkil Sonne, the founder of The Specialists, who are devoted to helping autistic people realise their unique talents and contribute meaningfully to society. A truly humbling experience to hear his appeal for us all to recognise and appreciate diversity in society, and enable people to find meaning and a purpose in life, and ultimately, happiness.

A day both exciting, uplifting and mentally challenging (or hard fun! as we call it) where all of us came away not only with a deepened understanding of creativity and the role of systems in creativity – but also recognising the many contributions to this field and renewed in our commitment to Inspire and Develop the Builders of Tomorrow – the motto behind all of our work here at the LEGO Group.