This is the official website of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009. It provides news on relevant events taking place during 2009, serves as a platform for access to projects and explains how to participate in the Year.

Main objective of EYCI 2009

The European Year of Creativity and Innovation aims to raise awareness of the importance of creativity and innovation for personal, social and economic development; to disseminate good practices; to stimulate education and research, and to promote policy debate on related issues.


Key message

Creativity and innovation contribute to economic prosperity as well as to social and individual wellbeing.


Target groups

The activities of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 are aimed at a range of different groups including young people, educators, firms and policy makers, as well as the general public. Civil society organisations are encouraged to mobilise and get involved at European, national and local levels.



Main actors

• At EU level, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture is the responsible body for the implementation of EYCI 2009, in association with the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry. Other Directorates- Generals responsible for related policy fields also undertake relevant activities of the Year. The European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions as well as the Economic and Social Committee also contribute to the campaign through the implementation of various relevant activities. For more information, click here.
• In each EU Member State, a national coordinator, usually a representative of the Ministry of Education, is responsible for the coordination of the implementation of the Year at a national level.

The wider picture

EYCI 2009 takes place within the overall framework of several EU policy initiatives fostering Creativity and Innovation. These include amongst others the following:

• Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on key competences for lifelong learning
• Council Resolution on new skills for new jobs
• Broad- based innovation strategy for the EU
• European policy cooperation in Education and Training
• European agenda for culture in a globalizing world

For further information please check the official documents of the Year.