These group activities were designed to discover the characteristics and potential of divergent thinking: a creative mind is flexible and open to new knowledge, makes connections, adapts to unexpected events and is able to find new ways of solving problems, has more fun, is able to recognize, accepts and appreciates differences, sees failure as an opportunity to learn, embraces possibility and the unknown, anticipates events and develops unique and useful ideas.

The activities (Write a list of all the green things you can think of, discuss in group about the different possible uses of a box in group, try to imagine what would happen if you woke up very small) highlighted some ‘creativity killers‘: prejudices, recurring and automatic thought patterns, pessimism, isolation and homogeneity, lack of motivation and passion, excess of pressure.

All these factors limit the expression of creative thinking. On the other hand, stimulating the mind to answer open questions, that is question without a unique possible answer, within a non-judgmental environment, the creative potential inherent in each can emerge and, thanks to the contamination with the ideas of others, can flourish and produce something new that has value for the individual and for the community.