What is a Startup Competition?
What is a Startup Competition? Startup competitions are vital platforms...Mediterranean Youth Building Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
October 8, 2024Forum 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
- Empowering youth for their path to entrepreneurship
- Cultivating Sustainable and Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
- Youth-led Ventures as Catalysts for Cross-Regional Employment and Skills Development
- 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:
- Peter Vesterbacka: Our education system had taught us to ask “Wha to do?”. In the era of AI and technology people should instead understand the role they play within an organization/project/campaign and then go and create something on their own that they believe would be astonishing/valuable to that organization.
- In order to cultivate Sustainable and Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (as discussed during the 2nd panel session),.young people need to create companies and build things. As Henrik Asklöf (Community Director at Startup Saun) said: “The Finnish ecosystem wasn’t like this at all 15 years before. We needed to embrace the American mentality of talking openly about our ideas and then going ahead to pursue them, instead of keeping them to ourselves”.
- It was impressive to see the paying-it-forward mentality implemented within.the Finnish startup ecosystem, similar to what is happening in Silicon Valley. Teams such as MIMIR Fellows and Slush along with its umbrella organization, the Startup Foundation, actively try to engage young people in initiatives. For example, the event’s volunteers were encouraged to interact and network with the participants, apart from their daily tasks.
- Last but not least, as Aino Bergius mentioned: “We never assume something. We don’t take for granted what we tried successfully this year at Slush will also be successful next year. Make sure to keep up-to-date with the world and market trends around you, as well as be consistent with clear and honest feedback and organize something that people actually love.“ -George Krachtopoulos, SG Representative at the Mediterranean Youth Building Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
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