Bringing the spirit of creative bureaucracy to our region by building community, inspiring and celebrating a more creative public service
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Why do we need a creative bureaucracy?
The many complex challenges we face require a radical shift in thinking and culture.
Public servants need to feel uplifted and energised if we are to benefit from their work ethic, curiosity, humanity and insights. This needs a huge cultural and perception shift - both inside and outside of government - that acknowledges and embeds creative practices within bureaucratic systems.
New types of partnerships and collaboration – across all parts of society - are an essential part of this, and this relies on highly-developed skills. We need to better value different perspectives, a co-creation approach, experimentation and continual learning.
We want public servants to feel a part of a creative, global community where we can share and learn from the countless innovations and experiments that are continuously being prototyped across the public sector.
For those that feel isolated or alienated working in government, building a creative bureaucracy is our mission to value and empower people in whatever public-serving role they are in.
Part of a global movement
The Creative Bureaucracy Festival was founded in Berlin in partnership with the Falling Walls Foundation. Starting with a successful take-off event in 2018 at the Humboldt University of Berlin, the annual June gathering now attracts participation from over 100 partner institutions and thousands of international participants from government, politics, civil society and other change-making organisations.
Its impact continues to grow as it builds momentum across the globe with a number of Creative Bureaucracy Festival Hubs and associated events building regional communities of practice, which we are seeking to replicate across Australia/New Zealand.
We are united by our shared vision to empower public servants, revitalise bureaucracy, and strengthen democracy across the globe.
Three key pillars of the Creative Bureaucracy Festival:
Rethink the rules and incentives so that they are appropriate for our times
Reimagine the inner life of bureaucracies so that people can operate at their best
Recreate new relationships with the outer world – civic, business, university - based on mutual respect
Our shared ethos and spirit:
From the public sector, for the public sector
Everyone is equal – no special titles or introductions
Inexpensive to attend, open to all
Recognises the pioneers and unsung heroes of public value creation
Values small and big ideas. Spans disciplinary boundaries. Honest reflections about challenges
Fresh thought, diverse in style, and "constructively anarchist"
A celebration of the courage, energy and spirit that creative bureaucrats bring to public service
Image Credits: Creative Bureaucracy Festival
Will you join us to inspire creativity within the public sector?
To start this journey, we are planning a grassroots, community-led and distributed program of storytelling, events and activities across Australia and New Zealand.
If you want to be involved - we’d love to hear from you!
Image Credit: Creative Bureaucracy Festival