Geneva, 16 November 2009 - United Nations agencies across Geneva have joined forces with UNCTAD to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week with a series of workshops, talks and events.
All activities will take place at the Palais des Nations (E-Building, Serpentine Bar) from 16 - 20 November (registration needed for security reasons).
Petko Draganov, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD, will address the opening reception this evening, an event co-funded by the Permanent Mission of the United States of America. Some 100 diplomatic guests are expected.
During the week, the International Labour Office (ILO), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), together with UNCTAD, will showcase their work in the field of promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. A large audience is expected, including many groups from schools, universities, and businesses.
Workshops and discussions will cover such topics as "Are you preparing yourself for success?", "Promoting an enterprise culture," "Mobile solutions to improve the competitiveness of small businesses in developing countries," and "How to market music from developing countries online."
Co-founded in 2008 by the Kauffman Foundation for entrepreneurship in the United States and by Make Your Mark, a business-led, government-backed campaign in the United Kingdom, Global Entrepreneurship Week is an international event intended to provide young people with the confidence, skills and ambition to create sustainable enterprises. Research shows that successful economies have thriving communities of small- and medium-sized firms, and that poor nations often lack such businesses, along with a tradition or culture that encourages entrepreneurship.
In 2008, its inaugural year, Global Entrepreneurship Week attracted more than 3 million participants in 80 countries. Some 25,000 activities were held with 8,800 local partner organizations.
This year´s Global Entrepreneurship Week has received support and the official endorsement of numerous global leaders, including Prince Charles of the United Kingdom; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; President Nicolas Sarkozy of France; President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil; King Mohammed VI of Morocco; Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of Japan; Prince Abdelaziz Ben Abdullah of Saudi Arabia; and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom."The world knows that entrepreneurship is the key to economic recovery, and the next generation of innovators holds that key," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation at the launch of this years´ initiative in August 2009. "Now more than ever, we need to unleash the creativity and ingenuity of our youth by engaging them in the endless possibilities of entrepreneurship."
UNCTAD has long recognized that promoting entrepreneurship is essential for achieving the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and has collaborated with the Kauffman Foundation and other organizations in the field. Through its Empretec programme, UNCTAD trains aspiring entrepreneurs in developing countries to found and expand businesses. Over 20 years, more than 180,000 people in 28 countries have participated. Empretec´s training methods are highly interactive, experimental and practical, and are aimed at instilling participants with an entrepreneur´s "mentality." Throughout the week, visitors to the Geneva events will have the opportunity to speak with Empretec international Master Trainers.
Speakers at opening cocktail reception
Monday, 16 November, 6:00 p.m.
Palais des Nations
- Petko Draganov, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD
- Otto Hans Van Maerssen, Counselor for Economic and Science Affairs, Permanent Mission of the United States of America to the International Organizations at Geneva
- Daniel Loeffler, Director, Geneva Economic Development Office
- Marilise Saghbini, International Manager, Global Entrepreneurship Week
- Jesus Martin Garcia, Eclosion
- Nir Ofek, Co-Founder of Glocal s
