Towson University’s Outreach Blog

Clay

From November 16 to 22, 2009, millions of young people around the world, and right here in Towson and the Baltimore region, will join a growing movement of entrepreneurial people, to generate new ideas and explore ways of doing things better. Students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, non-profit leaders, government officials and many others across six continents are coming together to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity.

Global Entrepreneurship Week helps young people realize their potential as self-starters and innovators.  Through this initiative, the next generation of entrepreneurs will be inspired to take action. In doing so, they will begin to acquire the knowledge, skills and networks needed to grow innovative, sustainable enterprises that will have a positive impact on their lives, their families and communities.

TowsonGlobal, Towson University’s international business incubator, is serving as an official partner and is supporting the mission of the movement by participating in or disseminating information on several activities during that week, such as:

• The Bilingual Entrepreneur Lecture Series (Foreign Languages Day)—These lectures by yours truly will help focus attention on the importance of learning at least one other language and on participating in study abroad programs, which can enhance a student’s ability to do business in today’s global economy.  This event also coincides with International Education Week.

• JA BizTown—Junior Achievement of Central Maryland will host several elementary schools for JA BizTown throughout the week of November 16-20.  JA BizTown, is an experiential economic simulation in a 10,000-square-foot replica of an American city that helps upper elementary school students prepare for and become productive citizens.

Through the many different programs and partnerships Global Entrepreneurship Week hopes to achieve four goals:

1. Inspire young people under the age of thirty to consider entrepreneurship as a career path.
2. Connect young people and organizations across national boundaries to discover new ideas.
3. Mentor the next generation of talent as they pursue their dreams with inspiring support from entrepreneurs from around the world.
4. Engage opinion leaders and policymakers on the topic of how entrepreneurship is central to a nation’s economic health and culture.