Entrepreneurship
in Poverty Alleviation
The Workshop on "Promotion
of SMEs - Development of Youth Entrepreneurship" was
held in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, on 27-28 March 2003.
It was organized by the Organization of the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the Representation of the
Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF) to Turkey, in cooperation
with the Youth Business Centre of Moldova and the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). 42 policy-makers and
experts from eight BSEC countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey and
Ukraine) and from Germany as guest country attended this Workshop
and Conclusions and Recommendations were made.
The Third Session of
the Team of Specialists on Entrepreneurship in Poverty Alleviation:
Youth Entrepreneurship was held on 12 February 2003, selected
its new bureau as following:
Chair:
Mrs. Stasa Baloh-Plahutnik, State Secretary of the Ministry
of Labour, Family and Social Affairs (Slovenia)
Vice-Chairs:
Mrs. Golden Rachel, President of the Golden Foundation
(USA)
Mr. Youri V.Sosyurko, President of the All-Ukrainian
Leasing Association (Ukraine) and
Mr. Jean-Claude Strebel, Director and Vice-President
of the W.A. de Vigier Foundation (Switzerland)
The Team of Specialists
elaborated its Programme of Work for the next biennium
2003-2004 focusing in the following activities (see Report
of the Meeting TRADE/WP.8/AC.2/2003/12):
1. In order to fulfil
the aims of the Millennium Declaration on Youth Working with
international initiatives including the following:
(i) Youth Employment Network established by the UN
Secretary General.
(ii) Youth Employment Summit Campaign established as
an international NGO.
(iii) Youth Business International; and
(iv) Junior Chamber International.
2. Raising awareness on
youth-related issues. Organising sub-regional workshops and
forums.
3. Development of school businesses;
4. Creation of project on match-making jointly with the World
Youth Bank; and
5. Preparation of Youth Entrepreneurship Report.
The Second Meeting of
the Team of Specialists on Entrepreneurship in Poverty Alleviation
was organized by the Coordinating Unit for Operational Activities
of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on 29
August 2002 at the Palais des Nations.in connection with the
First Regional Forum on Youth: �Security, Opportunity and
Prosperity�. .
At its second session
held on 21-22 March 2001, the Working Party on Industry and
Enterprise Development established a new integrated Team of
Specialists on Entrepreneurship in Poverty Alleviation (TRADE/WP.8/2001/5).
In accordance with the
initial mandate, the major goals of the new Team of Specialists
are to:
- raise the awareness
of the importance of the dimensional approach in enterprise
development for poverty alleviation;
- review the impact
of normative acts, regulation and policies aimed at promoting
entrepreneurial activities and to assess their impact on
the poor and vulnerable groups
- identify policy
instruments, which proved to be effective and efficient
in reducing poverty and social inequalities through entrepreneurial
activities, and provide policy recommendations
- exchange best
practices in eradicating poverty through promotion of entrepreneurial
activities and self-employment. Such exchange could cover
the following areas: "train the trainers" schemes
on business management targeted to selected groups of the
poor; search of partnerships and markets for their products
and services; creation of technology parks
- exchange experiences
and ideas on how to reduce rural poverty through entrepreneurship
- identify technologies,
organizational forms and support services, that could reduce
the costs of starting-up and running SMEs created by the
poor and vulnerable groups; improve access of family businesses
and small- and medium-sized enterprises initiated by other
groups of the poor to technology
- suggest specific programmes
to encourage entrepreneurial activities among specific subgroups
of the poor and vulnerable, especially for countries and
areas that are at high risk of conflict or affected by economic
restructuring
- identify possible areas
of public-private partnership, which could benefit the poor,
in particular, to consider the creation of solidarity funds
and other micro-credit schemes among select groups of the
poor with the support of the private and public sector;
and
- assist governments,
at their requests, in designing income-generating, entrepreneurial,
programmes (OPA/AC.20/1).
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