Global Entrepreneurship Movement Gains Recognition as United States Senate Announces Unanimous Support for the Initiative
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 19, 2010) – The United States Senate unanimously adopted Senate Resolution 681 declaring the week of November 15 through 19, 2010, as “Global Entrepreneurship Week.” In doing so, the Senate pledged its support to the goals of Global Entrepreneurship Week, including inspiring young people everywhere to embrace innovation, imagination, and creativity; and training the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders. The resolution was co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Olympia Snowe. The Kauffman Foundation is the U.S. organization behind GEW, which runs from November 15 to 21.
In pledging its support, the Senate noted that 75 percent of Americans believe that the U.S. will not sustain economic recovery without another burst of entrepreneurial activity. Earlier this week, President Barack Obama announced November 19 as National Entrepreneurs’ Day in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week in order to showcase the important contributions entrepreneurs make to the nation’s economy as well as in local communities.
“The entrepreneurial spirit lies at the heart of the American dream and our nation’s economic strength,” said Senator Shaheen.  “Global Entrepreneurship Week is an opportunity to inspire the next generation of American entrepreneurs to embrace innovation, pursue their dreams, and help keep America competitive in the 21st century.  I am proud to support Global Entrepreneurship Week and congratulate all the partners and participants that have made this effort such a great success.” 
"I applaud the goal of Global Entrepreneurship Week to 'inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity' in all corners of the world," said Senator Snowe, who serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.  "It is critical that we pass this entrepreneurial spirit on to the next generation of innovators who will be our future business owners and civic leaders nationwide and beyond the borders of the globe's most sophisticated economies, to developing nations that will undoubtedly benefit from the critical aims of Global Entrepreneurship Week."
“This resolution places a spotlight on Global Entrepreneurship Week and shows that the country values the role of entrepreneurs in economic recovery,” said Carl Schramm, president and chief executive officer of the Kauffman Foundation, the largest foundation dedicated to entrepreneurship. “Global Entrepreneurship Week is an important movement to propel the next generation of entrepreneurs and job creators.”
Now in its third year, Global Entrepreneurship Week brings together aspiring and inspiring entrepreneurs, helping them embrace originality, imagination and ingenuity through local, national and global activities. Co-founded by the Kauffman Foundation and Enterprise UK, a business-led, government-backed campaign in the United Kingdom, it aims to develop young people’s knowledge, skills and networks to motivate them to grow sustainable enterprises.
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 and turn their ideas into reality. From November 15-21, 2010, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement to generate new ideas and seek better ways of doing things. Tens of thousands of activities are being planned in dozens of countries. Global Entrepreneurship Week is founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Enterprise UK. For more information, visit www.unleashingideas.org, and follow @unleashingideas on Twitter.
Kauffman Foundation
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private nonpartisan foundation that works to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to grow economies and improve human welfare. Through its research and other initiatives, the Kauffman Foundation aims to open young people's eyes to the possibility of entrepreneurship, promote entrepreneurship education, raise awareness of entrepreneurship-friendly policies, and find alternative pathways for the commercialization of new knowledge and technologies. In addition, the Foundation focuses on initiatives in the Kansas City region to advance students’ math and science skills, and improve the educational achievement of urban students, including the Ewing Marion Kauffman School, a college preparatory charter school for middle and high school students set to open in 2011. Founded by late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, the Foundation is based in Kansas City, Mo. and has approximately $2 billion in assets. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org, and follow the Foundation on Twitter at @kauffmanfdn and Facebook.
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