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YES – European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs
YES – European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs is the major association of young entrepreneurs throughout Europe representing 40.000 members and aiming to support and improve the economic and social performance of young entrepreneurship in Europe. As such, it is the largest dynamic network of entrepreneurs, which constantly expands its activities.
YES was launched in 1988 by seven national groups of young entrepreneurs in order to face the challenges resulting from the ratification of the Single European Act in July 1987.Young entrepreneurs from Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan and Portugal met in Capri (I) during the National Convention of Confindustria Giovani Imprenditori to sign the “International Young Entrepreneurs Charter”, the so-called “Capri Charter” which established the fundamental principles for the future cooperation. It was also agreed that the social role of an entrepreneur had to contribute to economical, political and social developments of the society.The collective actions were based upon:
- free world trade,
- independent free enterprise system,
- recognition of social charges,
- free competition rules,
- protection of the environment.
The establishment of basic principles was followed by the development of working rules to further strengthen the collective activities of the associations.
The first set of rules was effectively laid down in the YES Constitution signed in Vienna in early 1990s.
Finally, in 1991 the European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs was established under the initiative of six national associations of young entrepreneurs from Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Portugal.
In 1993, the Brussels Secretariat General was set up in order to intensify the lobbying activities of YES at the EU level and to improve the exchange of information on European initiatives between the members of the Confederation.
Over the years, the Confederation has evolved to its current composition which currently comprises 16 associations located in “old” European countries: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain as well as in new EU Member States: Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Montenegro. Young Businessmen Association of Turkey had joined YES before the country it represents became the Candidate State to the EU. Non-EU members include: Albania and Ukraine.
In 2007 Kazakhstan became part of the large YES family.
UN Programme on Youth
The UN Programme on Youth is the focal point on youth within the United Nations. It aims to build an awareness of the global situation of young people, as well as promote their rights and aspirations. The Programme also works towards greater participation of young people in decision-making as a means of achieving peace and development.
With activities ranging from data collection and analysis to direct country support to Governments, civil society and other stakeholders, the United Nations system is well-positioned to provide comprehensive, specialized assistance in support of global youth development. Particular attention is being given by many UN system offices to areas such as health, education and employment, and the special circumstances of girls and young women—areas which present persistent challenges to youth development in many parts of the world.
Congressional Youth Leadership Council (CYLC)
Congressional Youth Leadership Council (CYLC) program scholars represent the upper echelon of today’s youth in both academic performance and community leadership. Each student is selected for nomination based upon academic achievement or classroom surveys, as well as by distinguished educators, mentors or CYLC program alumni, ensuring that every participant possesses the drive and determination to emerge as a future and world leader.
Our mission is to foster and inspire young people to achieve their full leadership potential. In support of this mission, members of the U.S. Congress and over 50 embassies representing countries around the world serve on CYLC’s
The International Youth Foundation (IYF)
The International Youth Foundation (IYF) invests in the extraordinary potential of young people. Founded in 1990, IYF builds and maintains a worldwide community of business, governments, and civil society organizations committed to empowering youth to be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. IYF programs are catalysts of change that help young people obtain a quality education, gain employability skills, make healthy choices, and improve their communities.
With the support of IYF and its partners, young South Africans are developing marketable skills in information technology; school dropouts in Australia are becoming young entrepreneurs; youth in Mexico are gaining leadership skills; and young people in China are running their own web-based newspaper.
Recognizing that no one sector of society has the resources or expertise to effectively address the challenges facing today’s young people, IYF serves as a catalyst to create strategic alliances among the corporate, government, and civil society sectors as a way to maximize the impact and reach of youth development programs. Many of these multi-sectoral partnerships are multi-million dollar initiatives carried out in multiple countries, funded over a period of three to five years. IYF also partners with multi-lateral institutions such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF)
The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) is a national charity dedicated to championing tomorrow’s entrepreneurial nation builders. Why? Because our future depends on creating new businesses: to fill the economic gap that is being felt as many small business owners retire, drive innovation, create jobs and support Canada’s overall economic prosperity. This is particularly important as 71% of small business owners will retire within 10 years, with 41% retiring within the next 5 years.
We do this by investing time and money in aspiring young entrepreneurs, age 18-34, who have a great business idea, but find it difficult to obtain financing or mentoring through traditional sources.
CYBF delivers our program coast to coast through a collaborative network of likeminded organizations that we call Community Partners (CPs). They are integral to our success and act as our local ‘store front’. Along with our more than 3,000 volunteers including business mentors, they champion youth entrepreneurship in their communities and directly work with young people to guide them through the entire CYBF process to obtain funding and a mentor. The CPs and their volunteer Loan Review Committee (LRC) members are essential to the entrepreneur’s success and in preventing outward migration of youth from their respective communities.
