YouthStart is a network of thought leaders that inspires young people through Entrepreneurship
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Fostering entrepreneurial minded young people is a joint effort among (currently) 16 partnering organisations across Europe:
YEA! (Albania)
IFTE (Austria)
Almse Academy (Bavaria)
Youth Start Belgium (Belgium)
Youth Smart Start (Bulgaria)
NFTE Germany (Germany)
FORÓIGE (Ireland)
ICEI (Italy)
Ministry of Education, Children and Youth (Luxembourg)
ONE WORLDcitizens (Netherlands)
VEZ (North-Macedonia)
General Direction of Education (Portugal)
Ministry of Education, Science and Sport (Slovenia)
SEEd – Social Entrepreneurship Education (Germany)
la Caixa (Spain)
Zentrum für Unternehmerisches Denken und Handeln (Switzerland)
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (USA) as an associated partner
Fairness as core principle
Focus on Entrepreneurship
Non profit organisation
Having (or being in the process of establishing) an entrepreneurship program for the youth in their respective country.
Mutual learning where established partners learn fresh approaches from new members and new entries learn from the experience of existing members.
Our aim is to strengthen our network, follow a shared vision & values as well as to promote growth within Europe but also on a global level.
At the core of our activities, students from all network countries participate in an annual entrepreneurship competition. They qualify by winning entrepreneurial competitions on a national level.
Every year the European Network for Entrepreneurship grants the 'Youth Start European Entrepreneurship Award'. The Award is awarded in three categories:
"Idea Challenge" (a business model for a business or non-profit project),
"Real Market Challenge" (real activities, based on a business plan) and
"We grow together" (cooperative approaches to projects).
The special prize "European Climate Impact Award" is awarded every year.
Entrepreneurship covers a lot of areas. Starting a company is just one example. In a broader context it is about enabling positive participation in our society. There are several paths to foster an active community of entrepreneurs.
Each member has a specific area of focus. This allows us to work on our country specific challenges and exchange best practices in our network to learn from each other.
Our European partners share the same vision and values with us and support our network’s European activities. They are companies, initiatives, foundations and individuals, helping us to reach our goals with their expertise, financing and support. We believe in creating strong networks and inspiring partnerships to inspire young people.
Thanks to the support we are receiving from our current European partners, we are able to coordinate our European acitivites and thrive for our mission!
The Peter Drucker Society Europe is a practitioner-led, multi-stakeholder group that builds on Peter Drucker’s fundamental ideas and ideals with the aim of contributing to the evolution of management as a vital piece of a functioning modern society. Each year, the Drucker Society Europe hosts the Global Peter Drucker Forum, a crystallizing event where decision makers convene to discuss the future of management in a pragmatic and solution-oriented manner. The Peter Drucker Society Europe is committed to strengthening Youth Entrepreneurship Education internationally, which is why an "Entrepreneurship School" cooperation with the Initiative for Teaching Entrepreneurship is being implemented.
The Wilhelm Exner Medal is an honour and is awarded by the Wilhelm Exner Foundation of the Austrian Trade Association. The award is dedicated to Wilhelm Exner on the occasion of his 60-year membership of the Trade Association, of which he was Honorary President at the time, and has been awarded annually since 1921. The Wilhelm Exner Youth Prize was awarded for the first time in 2021 to the winner in the "Real Market Challenge" category.
Rotary Klosterneuburg (District 1910) is the incubator of the Rotary program, which helps young people to actively shape their future. The Rotary Youth Award for Sustainability is an incentive and reward for young changemakers who get involved through ideas and entrepreneurial thinking in a team.
The University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol is a public higher education institution in the post-secondary sector, the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol Foundation. The FH Kufstein offers entrepreneurship education for students and schoolgirls in Tyrol.
EU Youth Cinema: Green Deal invites all teachers and their students to take part in the innovative green program for the future! The year-round educational program is based on a carefully curated collection of at least 50+ European films, accompanied by up-to-date didactic materials and thematically related discussions, workshops, and lectures. The program is freely accessible in 12 countries, and partially also worldwide.
Our mission is to provide programs that inspire young people to think and act in an entrepreneurial manner, to recognise business and societal opportunities and to plan for successful futures. We operate on a European level and cooperate with stakeholders in order to be successful.
We acknowledge that we live in a complex unpredictable world and want to prepare the next generation for it. We want to broaden the awareness of our youth and highlight that their actions make a difference and that challenges can be turned into opportunities by entrepreneurial minded approaches.