Creativity for Humanity’s Sake

ILR. Cornell. People-centered creativity. Fine minds. Humanity's toughest issues. Action. Culture change.

They go together, says Simon Boehme '14, recalling the day eight months ago when he blurted, "What if we created this festival?"

Red Ideas Festival opens at 4 p.m. Saturday at Trillium in Kennedy Hall and continues until 8:30 p.m.

"We are given so much at Cornell. It's our responsibility to help other people," said Boehme, founder and CEO of the organization.

Speakers, dinner, music, networking and other activities Saturday "can start to change the culture of Cornell to be more creative … to make the world a better place."

Red Ideas Scholars will present their brainstorms Saturday and compete for prizes of $1,000, $600 and $400. Winners will be chosen on the basis of texted ratings from audience members.

Art to finance, psychology to physics, from freshmen to experts – Red Ideas encourages "all and any ideas to take root," said Boehme, a Scheinman Institute research assistant.

Red Ideas tracks with ILR's social justice and practical problem-solving approaches, he said, so it's no wonder the group's top officers are ILR students.

They include Dipabali Chowdhury '14, vice president of planning; Verona Krause PhD '14, vice president of operations, and Carolyn Krupski '15, director of fundraising.

Festival speakers include:

• Jennifer Indovina, CEO and founder of Tenrehte Technologies, a clean technology company that produces wireless consumer electronics.

• Matthew Brightman, founder of Moral Fibers, a sustainable apparel company with a commitment to artists in the developing world.

• Barrett Keene PhD '14, a former schoolteacher whose research and work now focus on developing leadership in schools. Keene will participate from Tennessee via Skype; he is walking from Miami to San Francisco to raise money for orphaned and abandoned children through Go Walk America.

Red Ideas Scholar finalists and presentations they will make Saturday are:

• Lynne Vincent PhD '12, "Creative and Entitled: How the Creative Identity Entitles Dishonest Behaviors"

• Derrius Quarles, Boston University, "Why Students Today Need Willy Wonka"

• Kit Dobyns A&S '12, "CapLight: A Low-Cost, Energy-Efficient Lighting Solution in the Developing World"

• Caedran Harvey A&S '14 and Rachel Rosenbaum Hum Ec '14, "Framing the Future: One Bead at a Time"

• Sarah Dinger CALS '13, "Salt Restaurant: Celebrating Community Meals with Choice and Flavor"

• Jefferson Chen, Brown University, "GoodStart - Crowdsourcing Startup Funding for Nonprofits"