<P>The Alliance of Artists' Communities' American Creativity at Risk symposium brought together a group of brilliant American leaders and thinkers from all sectors of society - the arts, business, science, education, philanthropy and government - to address what the Alliance saw as a national crisis of confidence in the arts, creativity, individual innovation, and research. They called the symposium American Creativity at Risk to emphasize the gravity of the broad, societal problem they perceived, and challenged the six speakers, twenty-four panelists, and eighty-five registrants in attendance to:&nbsp; define the nature of creativity in historical, psychological and cultural terms; measure the significance of creativity to the health and growth of American society; identify societal factors that encourage or stifle creativity, in both children and adults; conceive new, innovative strategties to encourage American creativity to flourish and set forth these ideas in a blueprint for action to restore creativity as a priority in public policy, cultural philanthropy and education.</P>
<P>Speakers and panelists (see list, page 29) took a hard look at ways that the has in recent years failed to honor its historically optimistic, risk-taking, innovative and resourceful character.</P>
<P>To help define ways in which America as a society can stop colonizing the future, the American Creativity at Risk symposium speakers and panelists went beyond their examination of the problems to look at highly creative people and institutions that had experienced great success. Success was measured in a variety of ways - development of new art forms; scientific and technological discoveries; industrial design improvements; improved quality of life; increased tolerance among people of different backgrounds; solutions to economic, environmental and cultural problems; greater well-being and spiritual growth. Three themes wove through the symposium speakers' and panelists' assessment of the many factors that had contributed to these success stories:&nbsp; </P>
<P>A remarkably powerful, creative synergy arises when people of different professional backgrounds and skills work together. This creative synergy has led to successful problem-solving - revolutionary ways of seeing, thinking, and approaching the conflicts of our daily, human lives - in both arts and sciences, time and time again.</P>
<P>Creative environments give people time to experiment, to fail, to try again, to ask questions, to discover, to play, to make connections among seemingly disparate elements. This experimentation, or research, may not lead to an artistic product or scientific application for many years, but all original ideas and products spring from an initial period of experimentation or fooling around. This fooling around may sometimes seem purposeless, but it is the essence of the creative process.</P>
<P>Creativity is a basic human attribute that must be nurtured among all people, not just artists and scientists. The freedom to learn, to create, to take risks, to fail, to ask questions, to strive, to grow - this is the ethic upon which America was founded. Promoting creativity among all people, of all occupations, economic class, and ethnic background, is essential to the common good.</P>
<P>Are we losing this ethic, as a nation, and if so, what does that mean for our future? What can we do to ensure we are investing in the future of our country and our people? These were questions that launched three days of lively discussion and visionary thinking at the American Creativity at Risk symposium.</P>
<P>CONTENTS<BR>Mission statement, funders and other credits. <BR>Prologue by Brendan Gill. <BR>Introduction by Tricia Snell. <BR>What is creativity and why is it at risk? <BR>Closeup of an individual creative process. <BR>Hotbeds of creativity. <BR>The creative commonwealth. <BR>Working toward a blueprint for action. <BR>Opportunities for support of creativity: a policymaking viewpoint. <BR>First footprint. <BR>A blueprint for action. <BR>Symposium speakers, panelists, organizers, and general acknowledgements. <BR>The Alliance of Artists Communities. <BR>Works cited.</P>