Unleashing ideas amongst young Saudi Entrepreneurs
Countries all around the world are joining together to carry the banner of Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative aimed at young people everywhere.
During the week of November 17 - 23, 2008, partner organizations will conduct a range of activities designed to inspire, connect, inform, mentor and engage the next generation of entrepreneurs. In Saudi Arabia the week is being hosted by the National Entrepreneurship Centre, an initiative of The Centennial Fund, and is under the gracious patronage of HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
Detailed information on the week's activities, in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, will be available on the websites of the Global Entrepreneurship Week and The Centennial Fund:
www.unleashingideas.org/ and www.tcf.org.sa
or by e-mailing GEW.sa@nec.org.sa
Whilst it may be global in scope, at its heart, the Week is a local initiative that reflects the customs and entrepreneurial culture of each community. Events range from work sessions and forums at participating universities to lectures from captains of Saudi industry, and are open to all students and other prospective entrepreneurs.
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About the National Entrepreneurship Centre and The Centennial Fund
The National Entrepreneurship Center is the latest initiative of Centennial Fund, a Saudi Arabian charity established in July 2004 with a royal charter to help young Saudi men and women achieve financial independence, through helping them start their own commercially successful businesses.
The idea of establishing a fund started in 1419 H during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Kingdom, founded by HM King Abdulaziz Al-Saud, which emerged in that period as a requirement to start programmes that support young people to reduce the unemployment rate and the development of the local economy.A specialized committee to study the idea through access to programs implemented over the world.
The idea of The Centennial Fund was suggested in 2001 to Saudi Arabia by HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and modelled on his Prince's Trust, founded in 1983 in the United Kingdom. It exists to help create jobs for young Saudi men and women, help diversify the Saudi economy, reduce the failure rate of small start-up businesses and nurture creative entrepreneurs, Saudi Arabia was the first Arab country to be accredited by the Youth business International (YBI) chaired by HRH prince Charles.
About Global Entrepreneurship Week
Global Entrepreneurship Week is a combination and expansion of two successful initiatives, the debut of Entrepreneurship Week USA in 2007 and the inspiration behind it, Enterprise Week in the UK which was kicked off in 2004 by now-Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
During the last year, these two efforts - led by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the US and the Make Your Mark campaign in the UK - combined to engage over 2,720 partner organizations planning more than 6,891 activities that directly involved in excess of 929,449 individuals.
For one week, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement of entrepreneurial people to generate new ideas and to seek better ways of doing things. Dozens of countries are coming together for the first time to host Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. To think big. To turn their ideas into reality. To make their mark.
Today, entrepreneurial individuals appear from all walks of life to exploit business opportunities for both economic and social gains. From November 17 - 23, 2008, Global Entrepreneurship Week will connect young people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. Students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees, non-profit leaders, government officials and many others will participate in a range of activities - online and face-to-face - to harness the energy of social networking, to connect people taking action in their local and global communities and to celebrate entrepreneurship across the globe.
Overall, the Week will tap into a culture with a passion for networking. It will blend into the fabric of everyday life, engaging young people in school, at home, on the web and at work. Through this initiative, the next generation of entrepreneurs will be inspired and emerge. In doing so, they will begin to acquire the knowledge, skills, networks and values needed to grow innovative, sustainable enterprises that have a positive impact on their lives and the lives of those around them.
Issued on behalf of the National Entrepreneurship Center by Memac Ogilvy Public Relations, Riyadh.
For further information please contact:
Munira Al-Ghamdi,
National Entrepreneurship Centre Manager:
GEW.sa@nec.org.sa,
telephone: 9200 20 100
mobile: 0505182688
Adel Galal (adel.galal@ogilvy.com), Mohamed Yousef (mohamed.yousef@ogilvy.com), Ahmad Mishly (ahmad.mishly@ogilvy.com) or Sana Tabbaa (sana.tabbaa@ogilvy.com), telephone (01) 293 2446/293 0174/293 0165)
Press Release 2008
