By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: Over the years, Kuwait has supported and developed the youth's creativity in various fields. In 2019, Kuwaitis were in second place among Arab countries in the invention and creativity index. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, Kuwait's rank dropped to fourth for the second year in a row, which raised concerns about the country's future and its innovation and creative environment.

A study conducted by Arab Gulf Center for Studies and Research addressed the reasons behind the decline in the innovation index, which may reflect the country on many levels. The study revealed that the Kuwaiti work environment is not conducive to innovation, which may have negative effects on the future of non-oil development in the country.

The study says: "This decline in the innovation and creativity index, especially among young people, is attributed to various direct and indirect factors." As for the direct factors, the report mentioned that there is a lack of encouragement for scientific research and it continues to be limited despite the availability of the capabilities of young people, as well as poor quality education.

As for indirect factors, it noted that Kuwait does not work to shift towards economic diversification and focus on innovation and creative people, affirming that the Kuwaiti economy does not sufficiently attract Kuwaiti talents, some of whom choose to continue research and education abroad in order to achieve stability, their aspirations and innovations.

The report emphasized that the lack of a clear future vision due to the unstable political climate and frequent government resignations impacted innovation and creativity. This resulted in a decline in Kuwaiti innovations and the possibility of capitalizing on them in an institutional, purposeful and sustainable way.

Kuwait is capable of being innovative, but the country lacks a strong advanced technology infrastructure that fosters innovation and develops talent. The negative impacts of bureaucracy, corruption and nepotism harm Kuwait's ambitious and creative youth by making it difficult for them to succeed with their efforts and ideas or get access to positions of power. This calls for a political consensus to stimulate human development and increase the consistency of education outcomes with an innovation-based economy.

The study mentioned that there was another secondary factor that had a negative impact on the quality of education and scientific research and innovation, such as social media addiction whose rates increased among Kuwaiti youth, affecting intelligence and concentration. It also showed that creativity and innovation were directly affected by climatic changes, which calls on the Kuwaiti government to take serious steps to mitigate the effects of exposure to climate change.