Traditionally, on April 15, 2025, the World Creativity and Innovation Week 2025 started, bringing together 160 countries around the world, and the event took place in Kyiv for the fifth time thanks to the efforts of the KROK Business School, the official partner of the UN global initiative in Ukraine.
The main theme of this year's event was "Blue Creativity", which combines creativity, ecological thinking, mental health care and innovation for sustainable development.
Several events took place as part of this extraordinary event:
• Panel discussion "Blue Creativity in Business: Business Models of the Future", where representatives of Ukrainian companies and public organizations shared real cases of transformations and innovative solutions. Among the speakers were representatives of such companies as Nova Poshta, MHP, Kernel, Recast Plastic, as well as ASDE - the Association of Sustainable Development Experts. The event was moderated by Olga Karpova, CEO of the KROK Business School. "This year's motto is dedicated to water, because water is the embodiment of all life on earth, and we must appreciate this resource that nature has given us. We should all be like water: adaptive, alive, deep. And today, creativity is not only about ideas, but also about sustainability and renewal," said Olga Karpova.
• A creative workshop on creating business models of the future, focused on sustainable development. The event was conducted by Oksana Sedashova - associate professor of the KROK Business School, International Creativity Ambassador, initiator of projects for the development of creativity thinking in business. Workshop participants had the opportunity not only to get acquainted with the components of a modern sustainable business model focused on responsible entrepreneurship, but also to experience it through practical business cases, interaction and improvisation. “Participants did not just listen, but created: communication, ideas, solutions. It was a deep dialogue, a lively exchange and an honest search for answers, what the business of the future should be,” shared Oksana Sedashova.
• Creative lecture “Blue Minds”, where scientists who study the body, brain and climate gathered to talk about creativity as a resource. The following shared their vision: Svitlana Krakovska – climatologist, member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Petro Chornomorets – psychophysiologist, Kateryna Shavanova – biologist, popularizer of science. They talked about how to think not by inertia, but considering environmental changes, how creativity affects neuroplasticity, why “brain ecology” is no less important than the ecology of the planet, and science for business is an important driver of development.
• Dialogues about creativity in the club bookstore “Nash Format”, where meetings were held with writers Slava Svitova and Yulia Syromolot. They talked about the power of stories and creative confidence, reviewed the best books on creativity and innovation and activated their own creativity through storytelling.
Here is the feedback we received from MBA graduate Olga Khavina, co-owner of the veterinary clinic "Family Pet":
"I am sincerely grateful to the KROK Business School for the opportunity to be a part of incredible events within the framework of the World Creativity and Innovation Week - each event has become a separate world and at the same time part of a single powerful wave of Blue Creativity, which inspires deep rethinking and bold actions in rethinking your business and finding new fresh approaches to running it. I thank the KROK Business School team and all the speakers for their professionalism, sincere dedication to the cause, attention to detail and the atmosphere in which you want to grow and develop. I leave these events with the feeling that creativity is not the privilege of the chosen ones, but a resource available to everyone who is open to new things."
This creativity week’s events demonstrated that creativity is not a special gift, privilege or luxury, inaccessible to everyone, but a necessity in difficult times of transformation and the search for everyone’s answers to the challenges that exist on the planet. The theme of Blue Creativity inspired entrepreneurs, scientists, educators and artists to look for new ways of thinking, acting and collaborating that consider both economic efficiency and humanity, ethics and environmental friendliness. The KROK Business School is grateful to Oksana Sedashova, the International Creativity Ambassador in Ukraine, for her tireless activity in organizing this event, for her energy, drive, for promoting creativity in business and society, her care and perseverance.
If you are interested in cooperating with the Center for Research on Creativity and Innovation of the KROK Business School to exchange experience in the field of developing creative thinking and the ability to create innovations, creating the integration of creative frameworks and teaching methods for adults in the field of business education - we invite you to contact the coordinator of the direction Oksana Sedashova: Sedashovaoa@krok.edu.
