A unique initiative to promote youth enterprise in Central Europe - the Society for the Promotion of Youth Enterprise in Central Europe - was recently launched at a conference in the British Embassy in Hungary’s Budapest, hosted by the Ambassador, Greg Dorey.
The newly established Society will be the platform for further rolling out the youth enterprise activities of the youngbusiness.net programme in the region. youngbusiness.net is Enterprise Development Worldwide’s (EDW’s) collaborative programme of enterprise support for young people in the UK and Central Europe.
A series of youngbusiness.net projects have been running since 1999. They have all had a common aim to encourage the spread of youth enterprise in the UK and throughout Central Europe. The current project youngbusiness.net 3, supported by the EU’s Leonardo Da Vinci Lifelong Learning Programme, culminated in the establishment of the Society.
Enterprise Development Worldwide’s youngbusiness.net 3 partners and members of the new Society are committed to carrying on the work of the youngbusiness.net 3 project to encourage youth enterprise both before and after students leave school. They aim to improve entrepreneurship skills among young people and to provide a comprehensive support infrastructure for young entrepreneurs in their respective countries.
In welcoming everyone to the conference, the Ambassador, Greg Dorey, said “the regional network you can access via youngbusiness.net 3 is invaluable in terms of support, ideas, contacts and influencing power. What it will be able to achieve in the longer term will also depend on your future activities. The Society for the Promotion of Youth Enterprise in Central Europe has now been set up to carry on with this critically important work. This Embassy is looking forward to learning from the Society and to continuing our cooperation.”
Speaking about the launch of the Society,
Michael Manning-Prior, Chief Executive of Enterprise Development Worldwide, says “The launch of this Society could only have been achieved through the perseverance, commitment and hard work of all the youngbusiness.net 3 partners, who are all founder members. The Society will benefit from their track records, experience and ability to work across international borders and deliver practical and cost-effective results.”
“Through our youngbusiness.net programme, we have helped a range of organisations such as enterprise agencies, educational institutions, regional development agencies and non-governmental organisations set up their youth enterprise initiatives”
Contact: Michael Manning-Prior, Chief Executive, Enterprise Development Worldwide
Tel: +44 (0)208516 7700 Email: info@edworldwide.org
Website: www.edworldwide.org
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Notes to Editors
Background to youngbusiness.net 3
youngbusiness.net 3 is supported by the EU’s Leonardo Da Vinci Lifelong Learning Programme.
The youngbusiness.net 1,2 and 3 and youngbusiness.net UK projects have been running since 1999. They have all had a common aim to encourage the spread of youth enterprise throughout the UK and Central Europe. A variety of partners have been involved with each youngbusiness.net project, involving some of the existing partners, together with new ones. In this way, the accumulated experience is not lost, and more enterprise bodies can take advantage of the Programme’s experience of over 10 years successful operation in the region.
The youngbusiness.net projects have been supported by the UK’s Big Lottery Fund and the EU Leonardo Lifelong Learning Programme. youngbusiness.net 1 ran from 1999 to 2002, youngbusiness.net 2 from 2004 to 2007 and now youngbusiness.net 3, again supported by the Leonardo Programme, has run from 2007 to 2009.
youngbusiness.net 3 has shared its knowledge with seven Central European partner organisations - four of them entirely new to youth enterprise and youngbusiness.net. Through this project, more young people than ever have received a first introduction to business skills in challenging economic environments.
youngbusiness.net 3
Enterprise Development Worldwide is Leading the Collaboration with Seven Partners:
• Budapest Youth Enterprise Centre, Budapest, Hungary;
• Neuman Youth Enterprise Centre, Eger, Hungary;
• Móricz Zsigmond Secondary School, Ibrány, Hungary;
• Abigél Multifunctional Institute, Nyíregyháza and Debrecen, Hungary;
• Inkubator De Afaceri, Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania;
• Regional Development Agency, Rimavska Sobota, Slovakia;
• Regional Development Agency, Moldava nad Botvou, Slovakia.
Enterprise Development Worldwide’s youngbusiness.net 3 partners in Central Europe encourage youth enterprise both before and after students leave school. They aim to improve entrepreneurship skills among young people and to provide a comprehensive support infrastructure for young entrepreneurs in their respective countries.
A unique initiative to promote youth enterprise in Central Europe - the Society for the Promotion of Youth Enterprise in Central Europe - was recently launched at a conference in the British Embassy in Hungary’s Budapest, hosted by the Ambassador, Greg Dorey.
At the heart of the youngbusiness.net 3 project is the creation of the Society for the Promotion of Youth Enterprise in Central Europe. Not only does this guarantee the continuance of the work beyond the life of the current project, but it also demonstrates the commitment and viability of the youngbusiness.net partnership to cooperate effectively in the future.
The Society will seek support from a range of funders and programme funding streams, including the Leonardo Da Vinci Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union. It will work with wider groups of partners in the region to disseminate the key messages about youth enterprise and to spread good practice ever wider.
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