Global Entrepreneurship Week

Global Entrepreneurship Week is an initiative aimed at promoting the entrepreneurial aspirations of young people everywhere. During the week of November 17-23, 2008, partner organizations will conduct a range of activities designed to inspire, connect, mentor and engage young people in an effort to help them acquire the knowledge, skills, networks and values needed to grow innovative and sustainable enterprises. Host organizations in each participating country are recruiting partners and coordinating related activities. While Global Entrepreneurship Week is constantly growing, there are currently 81 hosts and 1,347 partner organizations signed up to plan activities during the Week.

Activities

General Information

Global Entrepreneurship Week uses a number of methods to reach out to the general public and encourage participation. Part of its mission is to leverage educational and professional networking channels and encourage youth to seize overlooked opportunities. It is a highly Internet-focused campaign, facilitating dialogue and information sharing, helping to achieve greater levels of entrepreneurship across the world. Despite its global scope, the Week is a local initiative driven by community-based activities. Anticipation for the Week has been highlighted in several articles and websites, including entrepreneur.com, BusinessWire and Stanford University's website.

Unleash It!

This program, conducted through the main website, will allow an individual or organization the ability to upload a challenge, and visitors to the site will have the opportunity to offer viable solutions. Individuals who submit top-rated solutions will gain global exposure on the Unleash It! main page and may be invited to participate in award ceremonies at the end of the week.

Background

Enterprise Week

Global Entrepreneurship Week is a combination and expansion of two successful initiatives: Entrepreneurship Week USA 2007 and the inspiration behind it, Enterprise Week, which was kicked off in 2004 by then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown.

Together we can encourage young people to realize and unlock their talents…to bridge the gap between what we are, and what we have it in ourselves to become.

[Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister announcing the plans for Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 13, 2007)]

Enterprise Week is an annual week long event in the United Kingdom, where a number of activities target thousands of students and young adults by providing encouragement to pursue their dreams. Enterprise Week will now occur alongside Global Entrepreneurship Week.

In 2007, there were 3,002 partner organizations, 5,270 individual events and 584,000 people attending these events. The largest activity was the Make Your Mark Challenge, which involved 38,000 students grouped in over 7,000 teams. Enterprise Week involved every region in the UK and saw a significant increase in the number of events aimed at women and minorities from the previous year.

Entrepreneurship Week USA

Entrepreneurship Week USA successfully brought together over 1300 partner organizations in 2007. Along with these partners, 3,707 individual events, and 481,449 participants were involved. The news media reached over 21 million people through the various activities. All 50 United States governors endorsed the Week, along with 350 universities who hosted at least one event.

Founders

"This enterprising spirit—the core of Global Entrepreneurship Week—is an invaluable resource the world must tap as we seek to extend the benefits of economic growth to more people across the globe and address the complex challenges facing us all."

[Carl Schramm, President and CEO, Kauffman Foundation]

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is based out of Kansas City, Missouri and was founded in the mid-1960’s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist of the same name. Their two focus areas are entrepreneurship advancement and education improvement for the youth. In entrepreneurship, the Foundation works to catalyze an entrepreneurial society in which job creation, innovation, and the economy flourish. The Kauffman Foundation is the only large American foundation to focus on entrepreneurship and has more than twelve years of in-depth experience in the field. While their work is concentrated in the United States, leaders around the world look to the Foundation for entrepreneurship expertise and guidance. In education the Foundation works with partners to support programs that directly impact a child’s academic achievement, with a concentrated focus on math, science, and technology skills.

Make Your Mark is the brains behind Enterprise Week UK and aims to create an enterprise culture among young people in the UK. It does this by giving people in their teens and twenties the inspiration and opportunity to turn their ideas into reality. They aim to foster an environment where people will work together, share their ideas and put them into action. Make Your Mark believes that an enterprise culture, in the form of entrepreneurial confidence, motivation, capability and ambition, is key to unlocking the potential of everyone in society.

Global Sponsors

*NYSE Euronext
*IBM
*Ernst & Young

Global Partners

*Endeavor
*Junior Achievement
*Entrepreneurs' Organization

Participating Countries

Hosts from 63 countries are currently involved with the planning and organization of events for the Week. The following countries are represented by various universities, businesses and organizations:
*Africa: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda.
*Americas/Caribbean: Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, United States, Uruguay.
*Asia: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam.
*Europe: Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Turkey.
*Western Asia: Israel, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates.
*Oceania: Australia, New Zealand.

External Links

Official Website
*http://www.unleashingideas.orgAdditional Websites
*http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page13750.asp
*http://www.kauffman.org/items.cfm?itemID=938
*http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.res.01017:
*http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/entry/196552.html
*http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080415005955&newsLang=en
*http://eweek.stanford.edu/global2008/

Global|Gordon Brown|Non-profit|Youth]

References