BRUSSEL – (BUSINESS WIRE) – In een tijd waarin Europa worstelt om te herstellen van de Covid-19-crisis, prof. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, de president van Portugal, Europese commissarissen Mariya Gabriel (innovatie, onderzoek, cultuur, onderwijs en jeugd) en Paolo Gentiloni (economie) en andere sprekers riepen vorige week op tot investeringen in onderwijs en om jongeren de vaardigheden bij te brengen die nodig zijn om onze economieën weer op te bouwen.

Tijdens de prijsuitreiking van Junior Achievement (JA) Europe Company of the Year Competition verklaarde de secretaris-generaal van de VN, António Guterres: “Deze crisis biedt ons de mogelijkheid om traditionele bedrijfsmodellen te herzien en de bedrijfsagenda opnieuw in te stellen door de mogelijkheden en systemen te bouwen dat zal baanbrekende innovaties bevorderen.”

World Leaders Call for Investment Into the Next Generation at JA Europe Entrepreneurship Competition

BRUSSELS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– At a time when Europe struggles to recover from the Covid-19 crisis, Prof. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of Portugal, European Commissioners Mariya Gabriel (Innovation, Research, Culture, Education & Youth) and Paolo Gentiloni (Economy) and other speakers last week called for investment into education and equipping young people with the skills needed to rebuild our economies.

Speaking at the Award Ceremony of Junior Achievement (JA) Europe Company of the Year Competition, UN Secretary General António Guterres declared: “This crisis offers us an opportunity to reframe traditional business models, and to reset the business agenda by building the capabilities and systems that will foster breakthrough innovations.”

JA student entrepreneurs aged 15-21 showcased their business ideas at this year’s virtual Company of the Year Competition European final. The resilience and innovation of these young entrepreneurs, and the 355,000 young people who created over 30,000 mini-companies across 40 countries in Europe, is truly amazing considering the context of school closures and strict lockdown measures during the past school year.

The winning company of this year’s JA Europe competition, “Bubbles” from Denmark, supports children with learning difficulties through a technology to improve communication between educators and ADHD-students.

European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni declared: “We need your energy, your skills, your entrepreneurship and your capacity. We can only achieve a real recovery with a strong contribution of all citizens and especially the young generation. This is why we called our recovery plan The Next Generation EU.” European Commissioner for Education Mariya Gabriel endorsed JA’s mission with these words: “We must ensure that every young person has an entrepreneurial experience at school”.

“This competition has once again shown that the JA Company Programme is a key tool to equip today’s youth with the wide range of skills and experiences needed in today’s competitive jobs market, including resilience and innovation to thrive in times of disruption”, said Adam Warby, Chairman JA Europe. “Junior Achievement calls for broad engagement of the business sector to create such opportunities for all young people in Europe,” added Salvatore Nigro CEO of JA Europe.

Meet all the winners of this year’s competition, including the European signature Awards by AT&T, Citi Foundation, Delta Air Lines, FedEx and ManpowerGroup as well as technology partner Avanade.

www.jaeurope.org

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Contacts

Minna Melleri (+32-470180934), minna@jaeurope.org