Office of the Lt. Governor: Internationally Renowned Sir Ken Robinson to Headline Creative Wisconsin Summit January 9th in Madison

Contact:
Ben Nuckels, Chief of Staff, Office of the Lt. Governor, 608-266-3516
Patrick Gasper, DPI Communications Officer, (608) 266-3559

Task Force Action Plan to Align Wisconsin K-12 Education with 21st Century Global Economy Needs to be Released

MADISON — Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster and their Wisconsin Task Force on Arts and Creativity in Education will host the Creative Wisconsin Summit on Friday, January 9, 2009 at Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison. Keynoting the event will be Sir Ken Robinson, internationally renowned expert in the field of creativity and innovation in business and education.

Task Force Co-Chairs Lawton and Burmaster will release the Task Force’s Action Plan at a 9 am press conference. Following the press conference, they will convene leaders from business, education, government and the arts to define their respective roles in enacting the plan to improve student performance and increase Wisconsin’s talent pool for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Following Robinson’s afternoon address, speakers Sarah Cunningham, Education Director of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Robert Morrison, President Emeritus of the Music for All Foundation, will place the Task Force’s groundbreaking action plan in a national and local context.

Sir Ken Robinson served as advisor to fellow Liverpoolian Paul McCartney’s Institute for Performing Arts, currently acts as senior adviser to the J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles. His book, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative, and his 2006 lecture at the Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED) conference provided important context for the work of the Task Force. His new book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, will be released on January 12.

For more information on the Creative Wisconsin Summit, please go to www.creative.wisconsin.gov