Dandy

Dire times out there at present, all doom and gloom on the news - one could be forgiven for thinking nothing positive is happening in the world.

But such strange times can bring opportunity, new thinking, and can let people who have so far not managed to be heard above the political “don’t worry we know what’s best for you” cacophony of government, finally get their ideas across.

Creative thinking in all its forms, and I don’t just mean nice picture and words here, is absolutely crucial if the world, society, economy, whatever you want to call it, is to move on and develop.

Now take Iceland, surely there cannot be a country so desperate for new direction and new thinking after the complete collapse of it’s banking system.  Well Monocle did an excellent set of articles devoted to that very issue, and very insightful it was too, well worth a read (it may only be available to subscribers).

Even more inspiring was the fact that a group of Icelanders decided to form a ‘Ministry of Ideas’ (it’s all in Icelandic I’m afraid!), not the touchy feely sort - but a genuine group outside of the normal parameters of government, involving the community, to really explore ideas on where Iceland could go next and how it could get there.

Their numbers have grown and they are beginning to have genuine influence, which is great to see.

So it begs the question, why can’t we do the same? It would be fantastic to see the creative industry and the more forward thinking areas of Britain’s business community get together - blogs, workshops, whatever it takes… and raise the profile of a genuine ‘ideas’ based economy.

I see no sign of Gordon setting up a ‘Ministry of Ideas’ so let’s grab the name before it goes. All ideas and comments welcome.