Selected Quote<\/b>
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n Introduction<\/b>
\n <\/td>\n | \n The introduction establishes the book’s central thesis: Hong Kong’s education system sacrifices the arts, hindering the development of creative mindsets crucial for the 21st century. It defines key terms like “arts-in-education” and presents a roadmap for integrating the arts and education, framing the book as a call to action for policymakers, educators, and artists.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “Our best resource is our creative mindset, hence the cultivation of our people.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Part A: Origin<\/b>
\n <\/td>\n | \n <\/td>\n | \n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Chapter 1:<\/b> Cracking the Creativity Code: The Future Starts Now
\n <\/td>\n | \n This chapter traces two decades of Hong Kong’s education reforms, revealing a persistent gap between policy aspirations for creativity and classroom reality. It makes a powerful economic case for change, citing global reports on the future of work to argue that creative and social intelligence\u2014skills honed by the arts\u2014are essential for the jobs of tomorrow.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “Rote learning cannot save jobs. Adaptability and flexibility to deal with suddenness are crucial.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Chapter 2:<\/b> The Power of Imagination: Redressing Poverty?
\n <\/td>\n | \n The author introduces the concept of a “poverty of imagination” as a direct consequence of a deficit-based education system focused on rote learning. The chapter argues that redressing this requires a shift to an asset-based model that uses the arts to release the imagination, making empathy and a belief in alternative futures possible.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “As dismal as economic poverty is the poverty of the imagination. In the end, these children may not see alternative ways of living, ways to gain a better quality of being because they are not exposed to, nor do they understand, possibilities and probabilities.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Part B: Passage<\/b>
\n <\/td>\n | \n <\/td>\n | \n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Chapter 3:<\/b> In Praise of Gaps: Programming with Voids
\n <\/td>\n | \n This chapter details AFTEC’s core strategy: identifying and filling “gaps” in the arts and education ecosystem. Instead of routine programming, the organisation creates targeted projects\u2014from theatre productions that embed learning to cross-sector collaborations with medical schools\u2014that serve as proven models for change and capacity-building.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “Gaps need not be ascribed as failings; they can be opportunities to create something of substance to fill the void.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Chapter 4:<\/b> Passivity to Engagement:
\n Sm-ART Youth<\/i> Case Study
\n <\/td>\n | \n Through a detailed case study of the seminal
\n Sm-ART Youth<\/i> project, this chapter provides a practical roadmap for transforming passive students into engaged learners. It demonstrates how to cultivate a creative classroom by rethinking the physical environment, building trust, and integrating cultural outings and parent collaboration to foster autonomy and self-expression.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “Cookie-cutter activities in which the standardised requirement of the teacher reigning as the sole source of information and students producing the same answers were replaced by authentic experiences that engaged the child’s own experiences, thoughts, and feelings.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Chapter 5:<\/b> Reflections as Assessment: Acknowledging Considered Thinking
\n <\/td>\n | \n This chapter challenges the traditional view of assessment in the arts, moving “from measurement to judgement.” It champions reflective practice\u2014through journals, dialogues, and guided questioning\u2014as a powerful tool to assess and document qualitative growth. Using case studies, it shows how this approach makes intangible changes in students’ confidence and critical thinking visible and valuable.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “Assessment and evaluation are about storytelling, that through narratives, we can tell how we are doing what we are doing, thereby giving confirmation to why we should continue (or not) doing it.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Chapter 6:<\/b> Those COVID Days: The Arts and Well-Being
\n <\/td>\n | \n Using the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic as a backdrop, this chapter explores the critical link between the arts and well-being. It documents how AFTEC adapted through a “growth mindset” and presents compelling case studies and international research showing how arts engagement promotes mental health, resilience, and social-emotional learning, especially for the vulnerable youth.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “It took a global pandemic to start this conversation.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Part C: Bearing<\/b>
\n <\/td>\n | \n <\/td>\n | \n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Chapter 7:<\/b> Creative Mindsets, Creative City: OECD PISA Creative Thinking Test
\n <\/td>\n | \n This chapter analyses Hong Kong’s lacklustre performance in the landmark 2022 PISA creative thinking assessment, contrasting it with top-performing economies like Singapore. It argues that the results are a direct reflection of a school system that, despite policy rhetoric, does not systematically cultivate the creative habits of mind needed for a truly innovative city.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “If we are indeed to be the East-West Centre for International Cultural Exchange, then the degree of contentment, or complacency, should be a driving force.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Chapter 8:<\/b> Museums and Performing Spaces: Sites of Creative Learning
\n <\/td>\n | \n The author reimagines museums and performance venues not just as places for consumption but as dynamic “Sites of Creative Learning.” The chapter argues that by moving beyond chronological displays and passive viewing, these spaces can become powerful environments for fostering inquiry, critical thinking, and deeper audience engagement.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “The tightness of space need not hamper the expanse of the mind. Their evolution as sites of creative learning has immense possibilities.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Chapter 9:<\/b> Contextualising Human Resource Planning: A Triumvirate Concept
\n <\/td>\n | \n This chapter presents a strategic blueprint for developing Hong Kong into an East-West cultural hub by strengthening the “triumvirate” of audience, schools, and creative practitioners. It argues that the current supply-demand imbalance in the arts can be rectified by investing in a recognised, professionalised corps of “Creative Practitioners” who can elevate both arts education and audience sophistication.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “Quantity may be good as long as funding lasts; quality delivers higher sustainability through investing in current and future generations.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Chapter 10:<\/b> Myths and Misunderstandings: Musings and Replies
\n <\/td>\n | \n In this concluding chapter, the author directly confronts and debunks common myths about the arts\u2014from the idea that they are merely peripheral to education, to the belief that creativity is only for artists. It serves as a final, passionate plea for a more nuanced and accurate understanding of the value of the arts in society.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “The arts have everything to do with everyone if only we manage to open up, through creative learning, to create curiosity and subsequent inquisitiveness.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\n Epilogue:<\/b> First-Class Humans
\n <\/td>\n | \n The epilogue serves as a powerful concluding call to action. It poses a critical question for Hong Kong’s future: “How can we ensure our young people become first-class humans and not second-class robots?” The answer, the author concludes, lies in systemically embedding creative learning at the heart of education and society.
\n <\/td>\n | \n “In space-constrained Hong Kong, physical limitations can inspire the growth of mental capacity when we nurture creative thinking and artistic expression.”
\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\nAppendix II: Testimonial<\/b>
\n
\n‘Our schools and professional communities increasingly need creatively vibrant learners to succeed.
\nEvolving Creative Mindsets<\/i> hits the bull’s-eye exactly, showing creative practitioners how the AFTEC approach, proven by research and by similar best practices around the world, effectively develops the innovative learners and active creators we want and need. Bravo.’<\/p>\n \u2013
\nEric Booth<\/b>, co-founder of International Teaching Artist Collaborative (ITAC) and author of
\nMaking Change: Teaching Artists and Their Role in Shaping a Better World
\n
<\/i>
\n
‘Lynn’s lived experiences are painstakingly distilled into a book that advocates the imminence of creative thinking as a top future skill set and how to cultivate it. This book speaks to those in education, culture and creativity, policy and grant-making, community NGOs, youth development, and even healthcare. Most importantly, this is one for all the parents in the city.’\n<\/p>\n \u2013
\nHelen So<\/b>, board member of the Hong Kong Palace Museum\n<\/p>\n ‘Evolving Creative Mindsets<\/i> is an eloquent, evidence-rich treasure. Lynn Yau weaves Hong Kong’s vivid case studies with universal insights \u2013 uniting policy, assessment, well-being, and creative thinking in one compelling narrative. A practical handbook and visionary manifesto, it will inspire educators, policymakers, and artists striving for sustainable, globally resonant arts learning.’\n<\/p>\n \u2013 Anne Bamford, OBE<\/b>, director of International Research Agency and former Strategic Education, Skills, and Culture Director for the City of London\n<\/p>\n Hashtag: <\/b>#AFTEC<\/p>\n \n The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.<\/em>\n <\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/track.media-outreach.com\/index.php\/WebView\/422459\/4121\") \n <\/div>\n\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 28 October 2025 – AFTEC today hosted the official book launch for Evolving Creative Mindsets: Thinking Through the Arts, where leading experts from academia and policy research called for a systemic shift in education to secure Hong Kong’s future. The event, held at the Fringe Club, brought …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53900"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |