Creativity Stands Out as Key Rural Resource
It has been said that rural Nebraska's single largest export is its children. With many traditional methods of creating a life in rural areas no longer working, many young people see little choice but to leave.
Many forward-thinking Nebraska communities are working to counter both the causes and effects of outmigration through efforts that foster local creativity. Creativity is the most important and universal of human resources. The creation of tools, the creation of fire and the creation of language have made us who we are today.
Doing things creatively involves doing things differently, and this is fundamentally our means of self-expression. Every individual is unique and thus expresses himself or herself in a unique manner. Many people don't see themselves as creative, but everyone is.
While creativity is most closely connected with painters, musicians, poets and sculptors, this quality is not restricted to artistic people. Whether creating a business or a home, a career or a family, each of us is an artist in his or her own unique way.
When the pioneers first settled this land, they had little more than their creativity to rely on. They faced daunting challenges, blizzards and droughts, prairie fires and locusts. Most lived in homes made of dirt. There was neither a Wal-Mart nor a Home Depot to turn to for their needs. They had to find creative solutions to the problems they faced.
And the did: With little more than creativity, hard work and a dream of what would come, they transformed the empty prairie into the farms and ranches, cities and towns we know today.
Sociologist Richard Florida maintains that we now are living in the "Age of Creativity." His research indicates that the most prosperous cities in America are also the most creative. Florida believes that creativity - in whatever way it is manifested, from software development to art - is the most vital resource of the 21st century. Every person, every community, possesses "creative capital."
This form of capital can manifest itself in virtually any form and is one of humankind's most valuable resources. Challenges never stop arising. And while familiar challenges may have familiar solutions, circumstances have a way of changing, making old solutions less effective. We face new challenges every day and are constantly creating new methods for dealing with them.
In many ways, opportunities for creating one's own life in a rural setting have never been greater.
Modern technology and the Internet have all but erased the barriers that rural areas once faced, including the geographic barriers separating them from the rest of the world. Just as the coming of the railroad made possible the populating of the Plains, the coming of the Internet has made it possible for people here to connect with others and market products in every corner of the globe.
Given the challenges they face, rural communities need to creatively "re-pioneer" their futures. An essential step in this process is to accept that things will never be as they once were. The future will not resemble the past, no matter what we do. So rural residents must be open to new ideas and nontraditional approaches.
Most of all, rural communities must be proactive. They cannot sit back and wait for whatever may come. They must take an active role in shaping a healthy and sustainable future. To do so, rural communities must find creative ways to adapt and grow.
Because everyone is creative, everyone can potentially contribute to solving problems and shaping the future. But because most people don't see themselves as creative, this resource is underutilized. It is therefore important for communities to recognize the value of creativity and take steps to better exploit their creative capital.
One important way to achieve this is by providing resources for people who want to develop and market their creations. Aurora's technology center or the Albion library's small-business resource section are but two of many examples of how communities can foster creativity from within.
A successful example of capitalizing on creativity is GROW Nebraska, which assists people in starting businesses and marketing products they've created. Another example is the Highway 14 Association's POPIN (Products On Parade in Nebraska). Through coordinated art and craft fairs, this program not only creates a market for local products but also brings tourists into rural areas.
We hear much about "value added agriculture" - processing and marketing local farm products to increase their value. The same approach can be taken with creative resources. By encouraging creative undertakings and developing markets for locally created goods, communities everywhere can participate in the Creative Age.
Story by: Paul Hosford
