NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has joined EntrepreneurshipWeek USA as a program partner, adding its support and resources to a national effort to inspire and encourage young people to consider entrepreneurship as a career choice and to celebrate America's unique culture of inventiveness.
As a program partner to EntrepreneurshipWeek USA, NFTE, will host and organize events designed to inspire, educate and prepare young people, primarily ages 14 to 25, to be among America's next great entrepreneurs and innovators.
With the theme, "What's Your Big Idea? Take it On!", EntrepreneurshipWeek USA will be conducted Feb. 24 -- March 3, 2007. The initiative is designed to serve as an inspiration for young people to think creatively and to turn their ideas into action -- whether that means starting a new business, developing an innovation for an existing company or solving a problem that makes society better. Official events are being planned in cities across the county, culminating in Washington, D.C, where the focus will be on the importance of policy to the nation's entrepreneurs.
"We are excited about our role in EntrepreneurshipWeek USA as the leading Partner organization dedicated to youth entrepreneurship education for low-income youth," said Michael Caslin, NFTE's Executive Vice President for Public Policy.
NFTE is an international nonprofit organization that teaches entrepreneurship to young people from low-income communities so they can become economically productive members of society. Founded in 1987, NFTE began as a dropout prevention and academic performance improvement program for students who were at risk of failing or quitting school. Today, NFTE impacts students' academic and life skills through its experiential entrepreneurship curriculum.
Caslin said he will soon announce details of a series of events NFTE will host and coordinate in its various offices across the country as part of EntrepreneurshipWeek USA.
EntrepreneurshipWeek USA is sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and by government, not-for-profit organizations and businesses, including The New York Times and INC. magazine. Additionally, the House of Representatives noted the importance of entrepreneurship education by enacting a Resolution (HR 699) in early June in support of a national entrepreneurship week.
"We are delighted with the leadership and expertise that NFTE brings to EntrepreneurshipWeek USA as a program partner," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. "Educating our young people about entrepreneurship and reinforcing the value that entrepreneurs and innovators bring to our economy is critical to America's long-term prosperity -- more so now than ever before."
According to Kauffman Foundation research, 41 percent of children ages 9-12 say they would like to start their own business. "Young people have a natural desire for the independence and control that come with owning a business and being their own boss," Schramm said.
Entrepreneurship is a driving force of the U.S. economy. During the past 15 years, businesses less than five years old have accounted for about 70 percent of the net job creation in the United States. However, while America presently maintains the edge as an entrepreneurial society, there are clear signs of massive economic competition from abroad. More Americans in the future will need to be generating more ideas and better innovations if the United States is to stay ahead of the large populations of educated citizens in emerging and globally savvy economies.
For more information on events and activities across the country and information to engage young people on how to get involved in EntrepreneurshipWeek USA, please visit: www.EntrepreneurshipWeekUSA.com.
For the past two years, the United Kingdom has conducted a similar program, initiated by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, called Enterprise Week. Last year, as part of the second annual Enterprise Week, more than 11,000 young Britons participated in more than 2,200 events across the U.K.
About NFTE
The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (www.nfte.com) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, whose mission is to teach entrepreneurship to young people from low-income communities to enhance their economic productivity by improving their business, academic, and life skills. Since 1987, NFTE has reached over 150,000 youth and trained more than 3,700 Certified Entrepreneurship Teachers. Currently NFTE has active programs in 31 states and 13 countries.