News: the director of the UK’s Olympic cultural programme has called on designers to help fight government proposals to remove creative subjects from the curriculum.

Ruth Mackenzie, director of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, said people in the creative industries were “right to be worried” about the proposals and urged them to comment on the plans before consultation closes on Monday.

“We need now to respond to the consultation,” said Mackenzie at the In Progress conference at the Barbican in London today. “Please this weekend, if you worry that teachers will not have time to offer creativity and the rigour of arts education in the future, go to www.baccforthefuture.com and explain why it’s important that every child gets a chance to grow their talents in school time.”

She added: “It’s for us to show ourselves and the world what our creative industries can be.”

Government plans to exclude creative subjects from the proposed new EBacc qualification have caused alarm in the creative industries. Yesterday Jonathan Ive and Stella McCartney became the highest-profile designers to add their voices to the campaign against the proposals.

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad was the largest cultural event in the history of the Olympics and was designed to showcase the UK’s creative talents. The Olympiad involved over 2,500 projects, which were attended by a total of 16 million people and culminated in the London 2012 Festival.

In Progress is a one-day creative conference organised by It’s Nice That. See our competition for a chance to win a copy of the It's Nice That Annual.