May 24, 2006
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador
From May 25-28, Grand Falls-Windsor will host the
Enterprise Olympics, a year-end entrepreneurship conference
where 100 high school students from across the province
will participate in business showcase and business plan
competitions. The Enterprise Olympics is delivered by the Y Enterprise
Centre in partnership with the provincial Department of
Education, the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union,
Service Canada and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
(ACOA). ACOA has provided $135,366 in funding support for
the annual conference and the overall Enterprise Olympics
program, a year-long multi-layered entrepreneurship
initiative that involves programs for elementary, junior
and high school students. The undertaking is also being
supported with $20,942 under the Labour Market Partnerships
component of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Labour
Market Development Agreement. "The Enterprise Olympics is a great way for youth to focus
on learning business and leadership skills," said the
Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister of the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans, on behalf of the Honourable Peter
MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of
ACOA. "The Government of Canada also has a renewed focus,
and is committed to key priorities that benefit all
Canadians, including lowering taxes by cutting the GST and
introducing and passing the Federal Accountability Act."Throughout the year students participate in the following
Enterprise Olympics initiatives:-- The Business Plan Competition and Enterprise
Showcase Competition, which are offered to 3000 high school
students across the province who are taking the Enterprise
Education 3205 course. Participants who won the regional
competitions are competing in the provincial conference
this weekend.-- The Market Your Thoughts Business Essay
Competition, which is typically delivered 20,000 students
in grades seven to nine through English language and social
studies courses.-- The Create A Logo Business Competition, which is
targetted towards approximately 18,000 students in grades
four to six from across the province."The overall Enterprise Olympics program helps teach
students how to think in an entrepreneurial way and how to
create and evaluate new business ventures. Over the
weekend, a number of our high school participants will have
the opportunity to showcase what they've learned about
business and put their business skills to the test," said
Kimberly Summers, director of the Y Enterprise Centre.Through the Enterprise Olympics, students learn about
business development, how to identify business
opportunities and how to promote their entrepreneurial
achievements. A number of participants in the Enterprise
Olympics take their business ideas a step further and
participate in Youth Ventures, a program delivered through
the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Community
Business Development Corporations that helps students run
their own summer businesses.The Y Enterprise Centre is an entrepreneurial outreach
service offered by the YMCA-YWCA, which delivers business
counselling and enterprise education services.ACOA is providing funding for this initiative through the
Young Entrepreneur Development Initiative (YEDI), which
targets the development of entrepreneurship and business
skills among Atlantic Canada's youth. It is one of three
components of the Entrepreneurship and Business Skills
Development program, and enables ACOA to invest in various
youth entrepreneurship projects.
FOR BROADCAST USE ONLY:One hundred students from across the province will be in
Grand Falls-Windsor from May 25-28 for the Enterprise
Olympics conference, where they will participate in
business showcase and business plan competitions. The Enterprise Olympics is delivered by the Y Enterprise
Centre in partnership with the provincial Department of
Education, the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union and
the federal government, and is part of a year-long multi-
layered entrepreneurship initiative that involves programs
for elementary, junior and high school students. The
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) has provided
$135,366 in funding support for the initiative and $20,942
is being provided under the Labour Market Partnerships
component of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Labour
Market Development Agreement. In addition to the Business
Plan Competition and Enterprise Showcase Competition, there
is a Market Your Thoughts Business Essay Competition for
junior high students and a Create A Logo Business
Competition for elementary school students.
For more information, please contact:
Doug Burgess
Director, Public Affairs
ACOA
(709) 772-2935
Paul Dwyer
Project Manager
Y Enterprise Centre
(709) 739-9933
