What if we get it right? A day with Daydream Believers.

What's in the DNA of a Future Change Maker?

Monday wasn't designed for my teenage self. It was designed for the people who could have helped him.

I was lucky. I found graphic design early, had a family who believed in it, and supported me in making it a reality. But even with all of that, there were stretches where I felt like I was navigating completely in the dark. I would have bitten the arm off anyone who could have shone a light on the path ahead. That support just wasn't there.

That's why Daydream Believers means something to me.

Who are Daydream Believers?

If you haven't come across them yet, Daydream Believers is an education initiative built on a belief that feels obvious once you hear it but is somehow still radical in practice: creativity isn't a soft skill or a niche subject. It's a core competency. One that equips young people to think flexibly, solve problems, adapt to change, and shape their own futures.

Their resources are free, co-designed with industry partners, and built for teachers to use across the curriculum. Not just in art and design. The thinking that runs through everything they do is that creative thinking belongs to everyone, in every classroom, every subject, every kind of learner. They've developed a Creative Thinking Qualification at SCQF Level 5 and 6, now recognised by universities for admissions, and they're only getting started.

At the heart of it is Helena Good MBE. If you've never been in a room with Helena, the best way I can describe her is this: she's the teacher you always wished you'd had. A genuine ball of energy, utterly passionate in pursuit of her goal, and possessed of a warmth and care that comes through from the moment you meet her. She has a mantra she lives by: "I see you. I hear you. You matter." It isn't a line she trots out for effect. It's a philosophy, one that shapes how she approaches every person she encounters, and you feel it immediately. I can only imagine how many lives she has touched through her teaching over the years. She doesn't preach. She invites. There's a difference, and it matters.

The day itself

Monday was my third Daydream Believers event. This time the Creative Thinking Festival at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh. A room full of teachers, creative thinkers, and people from a genuinely wide range of industries, all gathered around one question: what should be in the DNA of the next generation?

That breadth of representation was the point. Creative thinking isn't the exclusive territory of designers and ad folk. It's the skill that helps an engineer approach a problem differently, a nurse communicate more effectively, a business owner spot an opportunity no one else has noticed. Getting people from different worlds into the same room to explore that together was, in itself, a pretty good demonstration of the idea.

Helena opened with a thought I haven't been able to shake:

"We all have the power to inspire wonder in others."

It sounds straightforward until you really take it on board. She also asked a question that stopped the room:

"What if we get it right?"

There's something quietly radical about that inversion. Not what are the obstacles, not what could go wrong, just: what does the best possible outcome actually look like? It asks you to commit to hope rather than hedge against disappointment.

We also spent time on one of DDB's lesson units called Threads: a brief to design a sneaker that captures your identity, culture, and values. Deceptively playful until you're in it. What struck me wasn't my own process so much as watching what happened to the room. Grown adults, teachers, business leaders, people from every kind of profession, all gradually disappearing into their own heads. Getting properly absorbed. That particular state where you forget where you are because the idea in front of you has taken over is one I recognise from my own work. Seeing it happen to an entire room of people who'd arrived as professionals and quietly became learners again was something genuinely lovely to witness.

The moment that mattered most

The highlight of the day came via a video Helena shared with the room. A young girl who had come through the care system and been re-homed with a new family, narrating over footage of her own project work. She had used a Daydream Believers project to create a campaign for other young people going through the same experience. A piece of work built from the most personal of places, directed outward, towards others, with hope at its core.

The passion that came through her words, in spite of everything she'd navigated to get there, was extraordinary. It sharpened everything.

Which brought Helena's mantra into sharp focus. When was the last time someone said to you, "I see you. I hear you. You matter."? I felt that, watching that video. And knowing how much a thought like that landed for me, a grown adult with two decades of experience, made me think about how much more powerful it must be for a young person still figuring out who they are.

Why this matters

That's what Daydream Believers is really about. Not just skills or qualifications, but giving young people the tools to recognise their own potential and do something meaningful with it. However their story starts.

If you're a teacher, an employer, or simply someone who remembers what it felt like to not quite know the way, they're worth your attention. Their resources are free, their ambition is not small, and the people behind it are exactly the kind who make things actually happen.

Thanks to Helena Good MBE and the whole DDB team. I'll keep showing up as long as you'll have me.