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Thursday 15 augusT 2019
“Creativity, Knowledge & Innovation”: The New Triple Threat
Maastricht, The Netherlands – It is not a secret that Aruba and other
countries have been focusing on the role of innovation in fostering
socio-economic development for a more sustainable future. It has
been my personal mission since I was an undergrad student at the
University of Aruba to research the possible contribution of a cre-
ative industry on Aruba’s socio-economic and cultural growth. This
column has been a great tool to share my results and to inform the
Aruban community and visitors on the importance of creativity in
today’s society. Human Growth vs. Economic Devel- sue intrinsic motivation, the first layers
opment of needs to be met are basic needs,
Recently, I handed in my master thesis which analyzed the possible For those who are not familiar with which include: health, food, water,
policy synergy between the Aruban creative industry and knowl- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it is a sleep, clothes, and shelter (SDG 1,2,3
edge economy. Over the weeks ahead I will breakdown my thesis psychology theory formalized by and 6). Next, you have safety needs,
in different segments with the intention of introducing Aruba to its Abraham Maslow (1943) in his paper which include: personal security,
new triple treat: the synergy between creativity, knowledge and “A Theory of Human Motivation”. In emotional security, financial secu-
innovation. this paper Maslow presents his find- rity, health and well-being (SDG 3,
ings on the different stages of human 4, 5, 8 and 10). After that, you have
Moving forward within the 21st century will demand some policy growth. This patterns was illustrated social belonging and self-esteem,
attention to secure economic growth and social well-being of the as a pyramid with the foundation which include: friendships, intimacy,
Aruban people. Most of the time it seems like policy decisions made being “basic needs” (physiologi- family, self-confidence, indepen-
are so disconnected with the reality of human behavior. In order to cal needs) which leads to “safety”, dence, and freedom. Lastly, there
understand the dynamics of this synergy, one interesting concept “communication” (social belonging is the creative self-actualization,
that has been unfolded is the linkage between human growth and and self-esteem) and “creative self- which includes parenting, utilizing
economic development. In past columns, I presented the break- actualization”. In order for human and developing abilities and talents,
down of sustainability, where people, the planet and profit coexist motivation to move up the pyramid, and pursuing goals (SDG 4, 5, 9, 10
with each other. However, it seems more difficult than it seems. each level must be satisfied. To pur- and 11).
Interestingly, if we consider these
layers of human needs, we can
also transform them into econom-
ic development. See, if you think
about the “basic needs”, we can
transform this as the agriculture
economy. The same way we can
transform “safety” as the industrial
economy and “communication” as
the information economy. Lastly, the
“creative self-actualization” as the
triple threat: the synergy between
creativity, knowledge and innova-
tion. Creativity in this sense is based
significantly on social and personal
values (cooperation, trust, etc.), not
only economic values (such as prof-
it), and produces an interaction be-
tween social, political, and cultural
life.
When it comes to the knowledge
economy, a great distinction is
made between knowledge-based
and knowledge driven economies.
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