In His Element

Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson says every country is facing the same economic challenge - how do we educate people to find work and create wealth in a world that is changing faster than ever? Sir Ken suggests that by enabling young people - and indeed older people - to discover their true talents you are preparing them for a better working life.

Sir Ken has plenty of experience in this area. In 1998 he led a government advisory committee, looking at creativity in education - this concluded with the All Our Futures report. He went on to work on another report in Northern Ireland entitled Unlocking Creativity.

A Liverpudlian, Sir Ken Robinson now lives in Los Angeles. He is much in demand. His expertise is sought by organisations throughout the world. He spends a lot of the year travelling to deliver lectures and talks. His entertaining TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talks have become an internet phenomenon and his book The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything has been translated into sixteen languages.

In this documentary Ruth McDonald meets Sir Ken Robinson on a return visit to Northern Ireland, where he's supporting Derry~Londonderry's plans as the first UK City of Culture in 2013.

Plagued over years by violence, unemployment and mass emigration, Derry is a complex city. The organisers of the City of Culture see the year-long event as an opportunity to 'tell a new story' but already there have been bomb attacks by dissident terrorists.

Sir Ken Robinson sees 2013 as a golden opportunity for Derry to become a 'creative city'. Ruth discovers how his ideas are being received.

Presenter: Ruth McDonald

Producer: Claire Burgoyne.

Sir Ken Robinson, creativity guru, is in Derry-Londonderry, the first UK City of Culture.