British Council Malaysia - New Partner for "the Week"

Just got an email to say that the British Council Malaysia is coming on board as Partner for "the Week"

Welcome BC.

They have some very exciting plans up their sleeves, involving entrepreneurs, "happy hours" and more....

Stay tuned for more news ;-)

Oli Barret in Kuala Lumpur on the 1st of October 2008 !

Watch out for this event !

Its going to happen right here in Kuala Lumpur.

Brought to you by Warisan Global and Make Your Mark, UK and hosted in KL by MIRC !

Thank you MIRC. Thank you Andrew.

Not only that, Oli is going to be interviewed by Alan Bligh of BFM 89.9 on the 30th evening.

Will keep everyone posted on when the interview will be aired.

The credit for the interview opportunity goes to Nazrin Hassan - for introducing me to the radio station. Thank You Naz.

So everyone, please tell your friends and relatives and loved ones.

The event could be happening on Raya day ;-)

Good time to learn some speednetworking isn't it ? - you may have many Open House invitations for Raya. What better time to refresh your Speed Networking skills than now.

Anyway, I don't expect many of our Muslim friends to make it though - as one of them said to me, he could be "skewed alive" if he tried to do anything that even remotely resembles W O R K ...

The rest, please come.

Cheers

GEW - This Appeared in Market Watch on 16/9/08

75 Countries will Participate in First-ever Global Celebration of Entrepreneurship

Global Entrepreneurship Week, co-founded by the Kauffman Foundation and Make Your Mark Campaign, draws worldwide support

Last update: 10:29 a.m. EDT Sept. 16, 2008

WASHINGTON, Sep 16, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Global Entrepreneurship Week representatives today announced that 75 countries have pledged their support and participation in the Week. This inaugural event, co-founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the United States and the United Kingdom's Make Your Mark campaign, is expected to involve tens of millions of young people around the world.

The global event, Nov. 17-23, 2008, will encourage participants to pursue entrepreneurial thinking and opportunities through activities supported by entrepreneurs, government officials, non-profit leaders and educators.

"Entrepreneurship is fundamental to the advancement of any society," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. "Our hope is that Global Entrepreneurship Week will start a ripple effect that will be felt around the world. As young people are inspired to generate new ideas and seek better ways of doing things, they will create improvements in their local economies and, therefore, in the global economy."

Organizations, ranging from large non-governmental to small community-based groups, are developing activities. The roster of participating countries and partner organizations continues to grow, including many countries with severe economic challenges, suggesting a worldwide understanding of the value of entrepreneurship.

"The list of developing nations who have elected to participate in Global Entrepreneurship Week is both astonishing and encouraging," said Jonathan Ortmans, president of Global Entrepreneurship Week. "We're seeing strong determination in unstable economies to improve themselves even while facing daily struggles of poverty, disease, corruption and personal security."

The Week is open to all those who are willing to embrace it. The activities planned, whether online or face-to-face, are limited only by the imaginations of the partners and participants. While global in scope, at its heart, Global Entrepreneurship Week is a local initiative that reflects the customs and entrepreneurial culture of each community.

Global Entrepreneurship Week will feature two signature activities. Unleash It! will be an online community that allows entrepreneurs to post challenges and links them to enterprising problem-solvers. Speednetwork the Globe will offer face-to-face networking sessions around the world that enable young people to sharpen their networking skills and talk with local entrepreneurs and leaders.

About Global Entrepreneurship Week

With the goal to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity, Global
Entrepreneurship Week will encourage youth to think big, to turn their ideas into reality, and to make their mark. From Nov. 17-23, 2008, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement to generate new ideas and to seek better ways of doing things. Thousands of activities are being planned in more than 70 countries around the world.

Global Entrepreneurship Week is: founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Make Your Mark campaign; sponsored by NYSE Euronext, IBM and Ernst & Young; and, supported by JA Worldwide, Endeavor, Entrepreneurs' Organization, DECA, YPO-WPO, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Young Americas Business Trust, Lisbon Council, YES - European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs. To view a complete list of participating countries and organizations or to learn more, visit www.unleashingideas.org.

SOURCE: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

1st Host-Partner Meet : 12 Sept 2008

We organized the first Host-Partner meeting on Friday 12th, September.

Roslan Bakri and his colleagues from MDeC was kind enough to let us use their Incubator space at Plaza Sentral for the meeting.

We started the meeting at about 3pm and finished at 5.30pm.

Wow ! What a meeting it was ! It was high energy from the word "GO" !

All those who came, about 30 plus, were relaxed, in great spirits and in the true TeAM-MDeC-NEF style, was poking fun at each other and having fun. We were with friends. Money cannot buy this.

Talking about money - this was the first thing I confessed before I began the presentation : That as a GEW Host, I am not making any money. That this campaign is not a money making venture and none of us are getting paid by the Founders or the Global Sponsors.

The message was truly appreciated by those who were present.

All in all the message of GEW was delivered and by the end of the meeting, everyone was IN either as Partners or as Sponsors.

We now have to recruit more "Co-Conspirators" and get them to organize the activities.

Why I Created this Blog....

I created this blog out of sheer frustration !

Isn't that how most entrepreneurial ventures begin ? Out of frustration with the status-quo?

Why frustrated? My GEW Website was just taking too long to be ready!

I don't blame my Chief Geek,Tiki from The Tikiworks - he is such a kind soul, not to mention a very hardworking and a smart one too.

Tiki is in fact sponsoring the entire design and management of the site. He will keep the site updated until GEW is over. Good man. I warned Tiki that I may drive him up the wall ;-) He took the challenge in his usual jovial self.

Its me lah. The ever impatient one!

Anyway, finally an excuse for me to join the rest of my blogging kakis!

In the coming postings, you will see me recording activities, uploading images, videos, documents and whatever I can lay my hands on to support you or to keep you posted on the action that is taking shape as we approach "the Week" - 17-23 November 2008.

I will also be talking about some of you and how you are making "the Week" happen.

To be honest, I don't like the word "partners" in this context - I would like to call you my Co-Conspirators ! People who together make Entrepreneurship happen !

So...here we go !