“Creative thinking remains the key to a better future”
June 19, 2026
Photo: EFÍ.
The President adresses at the graduation ceremony of IUA.
“Do not let the fear of failure become stronger than the desire to create,” the President said in her ceremonial address at the graduation of Iceland University of the Arts. The full speech is available here.
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The President addressed the graduation ceremony of the Iceland University of the Arts (IUA), which took place in Harpa in Reykjavík. She emphasized the important role that creative individuals play in shaping the future.
Around 200 students graduated from the Iceland University of the Arts from seven departments. The graduation ceremony began with an address by Kristín Eysteinsdóttir, Rector of the IUA. Representatives of the graduating students from each department also spoke. The President delivered her address after the students had received their diplomas and said, among other things:
“Creative thinking remains the key to a better future. Behind every major social transformation are powerful ideas—ideas about who we are, what we are capable of, and where we are going. Time and again creative individuals – including visual and performing artists, designers, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and architects –enable us to see the world and its possibilities in new ways. You enable us to imagine what does not yet exist.
Creativity is not a luxury. Creativity is, and will remain, a prerequisite for progress.
In my view, the most important question of the future is not what technology can do, but what kind of society we want to build with it. And that is where you have an important role to play.
You have been trained to ask difficult questions, solve complex problems, and see connections and solutions that are not immediately apparent. You have the courage to question what is taken for granted and the confidence to create something from nothing. These are qualities that society needs, now more than ever. We need people who can create and design new works and new things – including visual art works, stage productions, books, clothing, and buildings. But we also need people who can shape better conversations, stronger communities, and new ways of living together on this earth.”
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