About WED
Mission
World Entrepreneurship Day (WED) is 24 hour world-wide celebration of entrepreneurship and innovation (taking place on April 16th, 2010.) The mission of WED is to infuse entrepreneurial optimism into the world when it needs it the most! We will remind everyone that it is entrepreneurs who have consistently led sluggish economies back to prosperity and growth through innovation and job creation.
Model
Individuals, high schools, universities, corporations and entrepreneurial organizations will celebrate on April 16th by organizing activities to demonstrate their entrepreneurial spirit. See our Downloads Page for an Ideas Packet! However, the sky is the limit and we encourage you to create your own ideas for events. Make sure to share them with us – ideas@worldeshipday.com.
World Involvement
The World Entrepreneur Network includes individuals, companies, universities, and K-12 schools from Senegal, Lesotho, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Mexico, Thailand, Canada, Australia, Kenya, Nepal, India, Cameroon, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Greece, Morocco, Nigeria, Turkey, Ghana, Bosnia & Herzegovina, 22 US States (MD, VA, VT, MA, CA, RI, FL, IL, TX, AZ, CO, UT, TN, NJ, ID, PA, VT, GA , SC, WI) and Washington D.C. will join in the worldwide celebration by hosting entrepreneurial activities or events in their communities.
The Need for WED
USA
- Layoffs at an all-time high.
- 2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008, the highest since 1945 (1.9 million of which were in the last four months of the year.)
- The government tries to help, but a growing $7.36B bailout cost seems like an unreasonable and unfitting solution.
- The bad news seems to keep mounting on and the only emotion that millions of people are feeling right now is despair.
World Entrepreneurship Day – Part of the Solution
World Entrepreneurship Day has the potential to rejuvenate and inspire the world’s entrepreneurs in a BIG way. The inaugural WED took place on April 17th, 2009 with the participation of 22 countries and 22 US states. There is no credible prediction for when the world will pull out of this economic turmoil. No time to waste for entrepreneurial rejuvenation!
What will take place on WED?
The sky is the limit with respect to what each high school, university, corporation or entrepreneurial organization can create. Below are a few suggested categories of activities. But again…the sky is the limit.
Events
- Educational workshops, conferences, speaker series
- Intrapreneurship workshops led by corporate leaders
- Elevator pitch competitions led by ambitious college entrepreneurs
- Brainstorming sessions led by an established small business owner
Socials
- “Entrepreneurial Happy Hour” for corporate execs. (after all, it is a Friday!), with Red Bull for college students, of course.
- Connect with the world’s entrepreneurs on April 17th. Use our Video Program (see the Downloads Page) to gather your comments and share online on our website April 17th.
- Log in to www.worldeshipday.com and see what’s going on in your community or all over the world
- Connect online with international entrepreneurs using Facebook Connect! (NEW!)
Creativity
There are several reasons why WED will be a day like none of the other 364:
- Random, spirited, “e-diffusion” activities highly encouraged! See our Ideas Packet.
- Contests to encourage “purple cow” ideas for activities
- “24 hours entrepreneurial blitz”
Research Sharing
Visit our Resources Center Page. If you have resources or articles to share, by all means please email Makena Sage at Makena@worldeshipday.com. There are unlimited resources and information out there for entrepreneurs. During this economic time, readily available assistance and information is critical. The sharing of this information will be a main focus and core competency of WED.
Who should participate?
WED is for entrepreneurs of every AGE, BACKGROUND, and GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION. Whether you’re 14 or 114, the entrepreneurial FIRE never dies, so WED’s purpose is to enroll everyone. Moreover, every stage of entrepreneur will take part, from the college student to the start up to the established entrepreneur to the corporate executive, because even the world’s largest companies were started by entrepreneurs! Hundreds of thousands of people will join together for a second celebration on Friday, April 16th, 2010 to share in a very special day of entrepreneurial celebration.
Excited?
Register your event! We’ll make sure to share it with the world.
