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Young people make up half of all unemployed world-wide – global enterprise provides a sustainable alternative

September 4th, 2008 by mariska
  • More than 1 billion people today are between 15 and 24 years of age
  • Nearly 40% of the world’s population is below the age of 20
  • The International Labour Organisation (a UN agency) estimates that half (47%) of all unemployed persons globally are young people
  • The world’s population is growing at a time when traditional, stable labour markets are shrinking.

This figures are staggering and demonstrate the need for Global Entrepreneurship Week (www.unleashingideas.org), which brings together young people from over 70 countries  providing them with access to more people, more ideas, more markets and more resources.

As traditional labour markets are becoming a thing of the past, young people need to find new, different ways to make a living. We need more businesses, more jobs. Global Entrepreneurship Week can help to do this. The brilliant thing about this initiative is that it encourages young people to use enterprise to tackle some of those pressing issues we face today such as poverty, global warming, dwindling energy supplies, and so on. In my opinion there is no point catalysing new businesses and creating jobs  if worst-case scenarios about the future of our planet become reality. That would be a bit of unsustainable solution… 

Of course Global Entrepreneurship Week needs back up from governments around the globe, who need to make sure the right environment is put into place for entrepreneurs to flourish – people’s basic needs must be met (if you don’t know where your next meal is going to come from, you’re not quite in the right position to start up!), they must have access to education, they need political stability, etc.

If you want to know more about how the right environment for youth entrepreneurship consists of and how it can be created, take a look at the ILO report, written by Ulrich Schoof www.ilo.org/dyn/empent/docs/F2125512235/WP76-2006-Rev.pdf

Mariska

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2008 at 12:11 pm and is filed under Entrepreneurship, Global, Global Entrepreneurship Week, Policy, Social enterprise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Young people make up half of all unemployed world-wide – global enterprise provides a sustainable alternative”

  1. Ashoka's Changemakers Says:
    September 19th, 2008 at 6:44 pm

    Ashoka’s Youth Venture and Changemakers is partnering with Staples to launch our first global competition to recognize young leaders who are finding new ways to create positive change in their communities.

    Enter your project in the Staples Youth Social Entrepreneur Competition to showcase your innovation, find supporters, and win prizes.

    Tell us your story today at http://changemakers.net/node/9138/

    Now through October 15th.

    Winners will be announced November 12th.

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