Did you know that today is the first day of Global Entrepreneurship Week? – the world’s largest campaign to promote entrepreneurship!
Over the next week, millions of people in 150 countries will participate in bootcamps, pitch competitions, networking events, policy roundtables, mentoring sessions and more to share inspiration and support, and to discover opportunities for growth and new connections.
Support for entrepreneurship has never been more important than it is now, and reinforcing entrepreneurial education in schools and vocational education institutions is on the rise worldwide to help instill that entrepreneurial ‘seed’ early on. The African Leadership Academy (ALA), which develops and connects Africa’s young leaders from over 35 countries across the continent, is a great example.
Andrew Devenport, CEO of global network Youth Business International and core Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) partner, is a firm believer in the strength of global connectivity – of what people can learn, and ultimately achieve, when they connect with people from different countries. As part of 2014’s GEW, a group of students in Hull will connect to like-minded people in South Africa, via a Google Hangout, and Nobel prize winner Muhammad Yunus will talk to students at the London School of Economics about his unique perspective on entrepreneurship.
A major student-facing event, Social Storm, involving leading universities from across the world will bring together a dynamic mix of designers, coders and business minded individuals to positively impact the world. Over 100 students will be participating across 10 international universities, working together during an intense brainstorming session to tackle a global issue and whip up a solution!
Your students may not be considering entrepreneurship as a career path just yet, but there are elements key to entrepreneurship – creative thinking, leadership, teamwork and problem solving – that you could focus your activity towards this week. Why not follow GEW Global (@unleashingideas) for some inspiration? With 150 countries, 25000 events, and 6 million people participating there’s bound to be something happening where you are this week.
