Creating Common Wealth

More than 250 delegates from 40 Commonwealth nations are currently arriving in Australia to discuss how youth entrepreneurship can help young people to meet the challenges their nations face, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Larry Anthony said today.

“The Creating Common Wealth Youth Enterprise Development Forum will convene at Maroochydoore on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. The Forum will run from Sunday 9 to Thursday 13 November and will be officially opened by His Excellency the Governor-General Major-General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC.

“The Prime Minister made the commitment for Australia to convene this forum as part of his announcement of the Youth for the Future initiative at last year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Youth for the Future is a Commonwealth of Nations initiative to nurture the skills and enthusiasm of young people by offering programs in enterprise development, volunteering, mentoring and leadership.

“Creating Common Wealth will bring together young people who are helping to shape the future of countries throughout the Commonwealth through their involvement in social and economic entrepreneurship.

“The challenges facing countries in the Commonwealth are extremely diverse. This forum presents an exciting opportunity for young people, governments and business to come together and exchange ideas on supporting young entrepreneurs to help them create better futures for themselves and their communities.

“Delegates will have the opportunity to hear from renowned international and Australian speakers, such as prize winning author and head of the Harvard Business School’s International Executive Program, Professor Christopher Bartlett.

“They will also work over the four days towards developing individual country plans of action to further the aim of building stronger communities, job creation and economic growth through youth entrepreneurship.”

Mr Anthony also released an Australian study undertaken in preparation for the Forum to identify any program and policy gaps and develop directions for future policy initiatives in the area of supporting youth entrepreneurship in Australia.

“The Youth Entrepreneurship: Scoping Paper shows there is a range of activities currently being undertaken by governments, schools, business and young people themselves to promote youth entrepreneurship. It also identifies areas of youth enterprise that could benefit from further development and initiatives,” Mr Anthony said.