Our Combined Vision is to Support

the Development of Talent and Creativity Worldwide

This International Journal for Talent Development and Creativity has grown out of an ongoing, vibrant partnership between the International Centre for Innovation in Education (ICIE) and Lost Prizes International (LPI). Over the past several years, ICIE – with its headquarters in Ulm, Germany – has established an impressive track record in terms of highlighting giftedness, creativity, excellence, and innovation in education. Indeed, the organization has reached out to many individuals and groups through its regional and international conferences (which to date have been held in Amman, Athens, Dubai, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Paris, and Ulm, with upcoming events set for Zagreb, Krakow, Nairobi, and a return to Paris). Through these conferences and other services, knowledge has been shared, cultural divides have been overcome, and active networks have been formed and incorporated into the ICIE family.

At the same time, LPI and the University of Winnipeg (UW) in Manitoba, Canada – with support from ICIE – have built upon two decades of work with talented, at-risk populations and launched a variety of service-delivery programs and the Lost Prizes/ICIE Seminars, a major course-connected conference that takes place each July on the UW campus. The overarching theme at this annual event is “expanding enrichment.”

So together, ICIE and LPI will continue to work in unison to forge partnerships with other individuals and groups through professional conferences that connect educators and create a spirit of global citizenship. However, although networking at such conferences is crucial, our more-encompassing hope is to move beyond the talking stage by disseminating information via books and other publications, by providing tangible materials and training sessions for practitioners, and by sponsoring in-the-trenches international programs that truly make a difference in the lives of students, parents, and educators. Essentially, then, our combined vision is to support the development of talent and creativity worldwide. And, to be clear, we’re talking about talent identification and development for all children and youth, including those who have hitherto been marginalized and disadvantaged.

The International Journal for Talent Development and Creativity (IJTDC) – offered both online and in hard-copy format – is one piece of our service-delivery puzzle. Since there are some messages, themes, and information we wanted to highlight from the outset, the first issue, and the second, were by-invitation-only. Many well-known researchers agreed to submit articles, and we thank them sincerely for their contributions. By the time the next volumes rolls around, we will be opening things up and calling for papers in the traditional manner. Should we feel the need to focus on a particular topic from time to time, we’ll go the special issue route.

Our plan is to publish twice a year, in the summer and winter. Aside from the articles, IJTDC will contain the following regular features:

• Book Reviews. Important books in our discipline will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

• Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. This segment honours the memory of cherished colleagues who have passed on. All individuals recognized in this manner in IJTDC will have made enormous contributions to ICIE and/or LPI.

• Profiles in Creativity. The intent here is to focus on the lives and work of pioneers in our area who are widely acknowledged for their creativity, and to consider what unique characteristics set them apart.

• Exemplary Programs. Here is the place where real-world practitioners get to share their work in an international forum. Acknowledging LPI’s roots, many of the spotlighted programs will be made-in-Manitoba initiatives. In an effort to stimulate cross-cultural communication and partnering, however, the long-term goal is to feature various projects from many countries.

We’d like to close by thanking our Editor, Karen Magro, for her efforts and dedication, our reviewers for their time and expertise, and all our new readers for their pursuit of knowledge and excellence in the talent development domain. Welcome to IJTDC.