Creativity – "the ability to create meaningful new forms" is more a decisive force of competitive advantage. In virtually every industry from cars to fashion, food products, and information technology itself, the winners in the long run are those who can create and keep creating ( Florida, R. Rise of the Creative Class, 2003).

"If services and human capital are in the focus of future economies (rather than natural resources and land values), then creativity and innovation and core assets, and education, lifestyle amenities and the arts become essential founding investments in that future capital stock."

Competitive advantages in the marketplace have always come from "better recipes not just cooking".

Creative industries use creativity for commercial outcomes. It is about facilitating the creation of flexible careers that meld creative skills with the requirements of business and industry.

Creative Industries sectors include:

• Film, Television and Entertainment Software
• Writing, Publishing and Print Media
• Music Composition and Production
• Architecture, Visual Arts and Design
• Advertising, Graphic Design and Marketing
• Performing Arts

The Shared Space

Together, the arts and education sectors form a powerful catalyst for the new ways of seeing, knowing, doing and being that underpin life in the 21^st century.

A Smart State demands creativity in all aspects of life - social, economic, aesthetic, technological and cultural. The Smart State is a place where imagination is valued. Smart State citizens respect different cultural practices and values and can celebrate them in productive ways.

We want to nurture the next generation of creative entrepreneurs and cultural citizens to push the boundaries of excellence in the arts and build social cohesion in our global and multicultural society.

There are also significant benefits derived from the "shared space" for the education sector and the arts sector. Arts-rich learning environments deliver higher results in arts education and across the curriculum, and they motivate students to learn and increase their participation in their school community. Arts-rich learning environments deliver opportunities for artists to be seen and heard and to reap economic benefit from being creative and working with young people.

To fully realise the contribution that the arts and education can make to the Smart State and to our schools and artists, there must be a shared vision and aligned action. Schools must be drawn into the wider arts and cultural community and into creative industries, and the arts and cultural community and creative industries drawn into schools. The community creates performing and other arts opportunities for students and teachers, and the fabric of the community becomes seamlessly interwoven with that of the school. The challenge is to identify and foster the necessary conditions for these dynamic arts and education partnerships in Queensland.