The Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU wishes to give a boost to the changes needed for schools, including kindergartens, to be better able to promote creativity and innovative potential from the very beginning of learning processes. The aim of the conference, jointly organized by the Presidency and the European Commission, is exchange of views on the role of schools and education in general in promoting creativity and innovation and on what conditions should be fulfilled for the necessary change to take place.

The conference will be opened by the Minister of Education of Slovenia Milan Zver. In the introductory speech Jeremy Rifkin will expose the key challenges of modern societies and for the European welfare system in the context of global competition and will highlight broader societal issues of innovation and creativity. Prominent speakers will then explore more into detail the role of education in promoting creativity and innovation and the need for modernisation of schools to cope with new challenges taking into account questions of equity and efficiency. European Commission's plan and activities in this area will also be presented.