If you’ve ever thought about how life would be if we didn’t have the ability to communicate, you’ll understand that it’s a critical skill to have. When we think about innovating through communication, it means mastering three fluencies (digital, writing and speaking) to share information to a wide range of audiences.
In an interconnected world, communication is one of the key 21st century skills that will help transform the way societies interact with each other. This skill can be found at the core of the work done by the Inspired Innovators.
Kristina Springer is a CST Graduate Award recipient. She found a passion for linguistics while studying and became an active participant in linguistic research. Through her studies and personal experiences, Springer began investigating different languages, and learned that improved communications make us global citizens who can build stronger social relationships. Her understanding of linguistics applies not to both spoken word and to improving access for people living with hearing impairments. Through her future work, she wants to use technology to help others connect and communicate without barriers. She understands that as an innovator, we have an opportunity to help those who don’t have a voice.
Dr. Ron and Dr. Marianne Ignace are 2019 Governor General’s Innovation Award Laureates. They’re working to preserve indigenous languages where the connection has been broken between younger generations and their ancestors. Over several decades they’ve developed a collaborative approach to research that successfully combined advocating and practising the deployment of western scientific knowledge in dialogue with the wisdom and knowledge of past and present elders. Through communication, they are innovating knowledge translation.
Audra Renyi is a 2017 Governor General’s Innovation Award Laureate. She’s working with underprivileged people and countries to deliver innovative solutions to mitigate hearing impairment. She learned that across the world there are half a million people with hearing loss and the vast majority live in lower- and middle-income countries. With only 1 per cent of the hearing-impaired community having access to hearing aids, Renyi is working to reduce the cost of hearing aids and improve distribution around the world through a tech-focused solution.
Communication and innovation go hand in hand. Innovating through digital, verbal and spoken communication is one of the critical 21st century skills that will help Canadians push forward and innovate for good in an everchanging world. As we navigate major world events, this important moment in history offers a new way to think about and innovate our connections with each other.
This blog post is one in a series of Inspired Innovator blogs, through Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation’s partnership with the Rideau Hall Foundation. We hope you’ll follow along as we share more about the Inspired Innovators and the 21st century skills they’re using to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving world. Tune in to our social channels @CSTConsultants and @cstspark or follow along at @RideauHallFdn and @Cdn_Innovation for more innovation news.