New tech tools, new approaches
To Edwards, technology, creativity, and change-making aren’t separate, siloed categories. They can be combined and remixed in creative ways, to solve problems and imagine a better future.
The tools available to Gen Z are crucial to shaping their work. “It might start with capturing an idea in the moment, then turn it into something like music or content using whatever tools fit their flow, across phones, tablets and laptops, including devices like the Motorola Razr Ultra and Lenovo Yoga AI laptop,” says Cui. “Regardless of the device, what matters most is how seamlessly everything works together to match their creative flows.” The work can happen on an individual scale, but increasingly, it’s leading to larger efforts for change – and reshaping cultural and educational institutions in the process.
In Brazil, for example, the Instituto Escola Criativas, or the Creative Schools Institute, is working with schools and teachers to re-imagine learning environments that place student-led creativity, experimentation, and innovation at the center of the learning process.
“Many Gen Z students feel that what they learn in the classroom has little to do with their lives or with the world around them. At the same time, they are deeply aware of social, environmental, and community issues, and they are much more vocal about these concerns than previous generations,” says Ana Beatriz Bretos, 29, director of Strategy and Institutional Development at the Institute. “We encourage projects where students learn curricular content while working on real problems in their communities, researching, prototyping solutions, collaborating with peers, and presenting their ideas.” As a part of their efforts, the Institute is partnering with Lenovo on a project with educators to explore how AI can be useful as a planning and creative tool.
Bretos says technology can be a powerful facilitator. “What we see in schools is that when students are invited to use technology as a tool to investigate real issues, tell their own stories, and co-create solutions, it becomes a powerful lever for engagement and learning,” she says.
Using digital tools to connect and express themselves, she notes, is something that Gen Z already does well. Isaac, for example, hopes to someday become an intellectual property lawyer and find a way to give back to young people in his community and promote mental health. For Abby, it means building a corporate career that uses her skills in cloud computing and other areas, while also continuing to lift up the community where she came from – and the world beyond. It also means staying open to new technology that can help her make the world a better place.
This kind of experimentation is how Abby and other young people will continue to expand the boundaries of what is possible. “Technology pushes me outside of my comfort zone to learn something new,” Abby says, “It helps me really think beyond borders and to be creative too.”