Programs and Events 2009
Events 2009
France Celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week
During the week of November 16 to 22, millions of people in 85 countries are participating in over 25,000 events to encourage people worldwide to celebrate the power of individuals with ideas to drive sustainable economic growth. Global Entrepreneurship Week will connect young people everywhere to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. In France, “Journées de l’Entrepreneur”, a non profit organization, created by Ernst & Young, AFIC (Association Française pour les Investisseurs en Capital), and entrepreneurs, will coordinate a National campaign dedicated to inspiring the larger public to entrepreneurship. More than 350 events are programmed all through France during the Week, and many entrepreneurs, stakeholders and government representatives will take part in major events.
In the words of Secretary of State Clinton, “the Obama Administration is dedicated to boosting entrepreneurism both in the United States and in other countries where talent is widespread, but opportunity often is not…. Global Entrepreneurship Week reflects a sense of collective responsibility to encourage young minds to pursue fresh ideas and unleash the full range of human potential.”
Innovative young people need to have the freedom to take risks. As business owners or as experimenters, they need the chance to learn from mistakes and start again. Thomas Edison conducted more than 10,000 failed experiments before turning on the first incandescent light bulb. Even Steven Jobs confronted failure when Apple fired him from the company he created—only to welcome him back to transform the marketplace once again, this time with the iPod and iPhone.
In France, Hervé Lecesne started a business specializing in the primary processing and sale of foodstuffs. The company did well. Sales and staff numbers grew, and became an internationally active group with three subsidiaries and a staff of 500. Then, financial trouble followed and Hervé was forced to file for bankruptcy. He invested his energies in reorganizing a small 12-person company, making it the cornerstone of a second try. "Groupe Nactis," reborn in 1996 from the small business Hervé rescued, now employs 150 staff at four production sites and a trade subsidiary.
Wise political leaders and economic managers understand the value of supporting entrepreneurship. They know that even the most daring risk takers need confidence that the merit of their ideas and effort will affect the profitability of their products and services. They know that young entrepreneurs are often women and others traditionally outside the economic mainstream of their countries. They know that these entrepreneurs often have strong ties to their communities and make civic contributions such as promoting education, supporting charitable organizations, upgrading local infrastructure, advocating environmental protections or encouraging responsible stewardship of natural resources.
Globally, as we apply the lessons learned from the economic downturn and restart the engines of growth, we will need to turn to the entrepreneurs in our societies and unleash the potential created by their own experiences with both success and failure. Global Entrepreneurship Week gives us the chance to assess where we are and to move ahead and make this potential into reality.
For more information about Global Entrepreneurship Week go to: http://www.unleashingideas.org.
And to learn about the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington in early 2010, visit: http://www.entrepreneurship.gov/summit.
