To cultivate schoolchildren’s creativity, the International Child Art Foundation (ICAF) organizes a school art program called the Arts Olympiad. Through the Arts Olympiad, some of the most creative kids in America and nearly 100 participating countries are selected. To honor the Arts Olympiad winners, foster collaborative creativity, and develop mutual empathy, ICAF produces the World Children’s Festival at the National Mall across the U.S. Capitol.

Empathy for others—from all walks of life, all religions, and all nations—is the greatest American gift to the world. Empathy does not come naturally. We must learn to see each other as inseparably human. We must intuit past the material and physical boundaries that exaggerate differences. When we learn to experience empathy, we realize that diversity and differences enhance prospects for self-discovery, cocreation, and collaborative innovation.