Mediterranean Youth Building Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Forum Overview

The UfM Youth Forum on Mediterranean Youth Building Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems has had great success,.gathering 100+ people from all over the world to Helsinki, and 40+ locals. There was a lot of diplomatic buzz too—UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel, the DG EMPL Deputy Director-General Stefan Olsson,.Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, Finnish MP Nasima Razmyar, and European Training Foundation Director Pilvi Torsti attended! 

It was the first time such a Forum was organized, bringing a diverse audience of participants,.from young people and youth organizations to policy-makers, representatives from the private sector and social partners. There were 4 different sessions dealing with

  1. Empowering youth for their path to entrepreneurship
  2. Cultivating Sustainable and Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
  3. Youth-led Ventures as Catalysts for Cross-Regional Employment and Skills Development
  4. Youth Engagement in finding solutions for Global Challenges and Sustainable Development. 

Recommendations from the event will guide future actions in this priority area,.and provide input for reflection for the next Union for the Mediterranean Ministerial on Employment and Labour that will take place in 2025.

Finlands Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

It became apparent that Finland has a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, greatly developed by youth-led initiatives such as the startup accelerator Slush and the largest hackathon in Europe, Junction. During the Forum we had the pleasure to meet Peter Vesterbacka (founder of Slush), Aino Bergius (Slush’s current CEO who is just 25 years old!),.as well as Kristo Ovaska (founder of the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society (Aaltoes) that sparked the entrepreneurial mindset across young people 15 years ago). Main takeaways include:

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