MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The second
annual National Entrepreneurship Week (NEW) takes place February 23-March 1,
2008. The week is in response to the 2006 US House of Representatives
Resolution #699 calling for a national effort encouraging young people to
consider entrepreneurship and celebrating the United States' unique culture of
innovation. As 2008's market volatility makes headlines, The Minnesota State
Department of Education, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) and
BestPrep band together to heighten awareness of the significant role
entrepreneurship plays in the state and national economies. Across Minnesota
NEW will motivate young minds to be creative and determined.
Congress is not the only national entity drawing attention to the subject.
"Tough Choices or Tough Times," published by National Center on Education and
the Economy (NCEE), states that with growing global education and skill
levels, the only factors justifying higher wages in the United States are
creativity and innovation. NEW recognizes that encouraging American
inventiveness is one way the United States has historically kept ahead in the
global marketplace.
"Ideas are the lifeblood of an entrepreneurial economy. Imagine the impact we
would make on the creative mindset of future Minnesotans if each student had
the opportunity to learn entrepreneurial skills in school," said BestPrep's
President and CEO, Bob Kaitz.
Kaitz is the founder of BestPrep, a 32-year-old nonprofit organization whose
mission is to best prepare Minnesota students with business, career and
financial literacy skills. BestPrep will send volunteer entrepreneurs to speak
in Minnesota classrooms throughout NEW.
Recent Gallup research featured in the new book The Entrepreneur in Youth by
William B. Walstad and Marilyn Kourilsky, highlights the need for
entrepreneurial education. Sixty-five percent of high school youth showed
great interest in entrepreneurship and wanted to start their own business.
More than eight in ten (81 percent) of the general public and (88 percent) of
business owners thought it is important for the nation's schools to teach
about entrepreneurship.
Minnesotans are encouraged to discuss the importance of entrepreneurship this
week with family and in the classroom. Educators are invited to contact
Kristin Dieng, Classroom Plus Manager at 763-398-0090 or kdieng@bestprep.org,
to request entrepreneurship speakers for their classrooms. For more
information on NEW, visit http://www.nationaleweek.org.
SOURCE BestPrep
Bob Kaitz, President and CEO of BestPrep, +1-763-398-0090 Ext. 234 or 227,
bkaitz@bestprep.org
