Do you remember when you first discovered you were creative? Or when you first realized that you wanted to work in the creative industries? Well a lot of people never do, or not until it is too late, but hopefully, that’s changing.

Keen to increase the diversity of talent entering the industry, while at the same time identifying and nurturing creative talent that might have been overlooked by the exam-based school system, the Ideas Foundation was set up in 2004 by the unforgettable-man-in-the-purple-suit Robin Wight, otherwise known as the President of Engine. The Ideas Foundation runs a range of projects that aim to teach young people about the creative industries and in turn how to effectively answer a professional brief. With clients ranging from 20th Century Fox to Nokia, young people are getting an amazing opportunity to learn and understand how to answer a real brief from a real client that they then have to pitch to.

In a bid to increase their reach, the Ideas Foundation has now launched their first online project, ‘I Am Creative’. The vibrant and simple website is loaded with competitive briefs from global brands such as Nokia, Vodafone and Metro, as well as a comprehensive resources library to support and teach their users how to answer a brief.

Once completed, work can be uploaded to the gallery for brands to see and judge (and maybe even make). The winner gets a material prize from the brand (think iPad or phone) and a work placement, and the top 3 highly commended get a place on one of the Ideas Foundation more intensive projects.

The project is being picked up by young people all over the country from London to Norwich to Manchester, with students proving to really enjoy their experience:

“By working on I Am Creative, we have been able to develop many skills that we will utilise later on in life. The experience was truly priceless as it gave us a real life scenario”. Student, 14, London

I Am Creative is also working with schools to run projects based on the briefs on the site, and in only 2 months have 15 schools working on an I Am Creative brief. The CEO of the Ideas Foundation, David Holloway MBE said:

"The response of schools to I Am Creative has been brilliant. Students love the briefs and are coming up with some amazing ideas. We are really hoping this will be the key to getting more diverse young people into the creative industries."

If you are keen to find out more about I Am Creative, or you would like to get involved, please head to www.iamcreative.org.uk or email jemima.jordan@iamcreative.org.uk.