News From the European Union
Entirely submitted by Daniel Schaubacher
European Confederation of Junior Enterprise invites EBBF
On September 13, JADE – the European Confederation of Junior Enterprise, launched the Generations Club during a 3-hour colloquium followed by dinner, at the Eurochambres building in Brussels, attended by some twenty entrepreneur students from all over Europe and ten seniors.
The Generations Club aims at fostering the inter-generational dialogue between young student entrepreneurs, seniors, coaches and seasoned business people throughout Europe.
Among the topics debated at this first colloquium : succession in family-powned SME’s; facilitating and promoting entrepreneurial education and culture; graduate recruitment in SME’s; role of SME’s in the economy at large.
The Generations Club has obtained attention from influential sponsors such as the Directorate General Enterprise, at the European Commission; Microsoft Corporation; CSR Expert Prof. Nigel Roome of EABIS and Solvay Business School ULB; and the umbrella association of European Chambers of Commerce – Eurochambres
www.jadenet.org
And here is Jade's appreciation for EBBF's support "the 1. JADE „Generations Club“ was, thanks to you, a great success for JADE. We thank you for participating and for your trust in the JADE network." from Nadine Sauerzapfe, a 27-year old talented junior entrepreneur from Nurnberg, Bavaria – below ! At the opening of the Sep.13 meeting, she gave me credit for somehow planting the idea with JADE.
EBBF Values Featured at JADE Jr Enterprise 15th Anniversary Conference, October 4, in Brussels
Brussels, Diamant Conference Centre, October 4, 2007 : JADE – the European Confederation of Junior Enterprises, celebrated its 15th anniversary and the 40th of the establishment of the junior enterprise concept – small and medium-size enterprises managed by some 20,000 students throughout Europe, at a conference attended by student entrepreneurs from all over Europe. The conference program highlighted values shared by JADE – students fostering entrepreneurship, such as personal development, social responsibility, intercultural exchange and proactive involvement. Arnaldo Abbruzini, Secretary General of Eurochambres, keynoted aspects of the entrepreneurial culture and the role played by SME’s in contributing to society’s prosperity. Panels on CSR and networking included presentations by Frank Brown, Dean of INSEAD Business School, and European Commission representatives. Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman Microsoft Europe, spoke at the gala dinner. EBBF representative Daniel Schaubacher was invited to offer his considerations after the launch of a new JADE project – the Generation Club which promotes an inter-generational dialogue on entrepreneurial activity and values shared by seniors and the junior generation.
See pictures attached and www.jadenet.org/download/news/letter/2007/200705_JADE_Gazette.pdf
EBBF Invited to the Spirituality in the Economy and Society (Catholic University Leuven)
Some 80 participants from academia, NGO’s and business from all over Europe, Argentina and the USA participated, Sep. 21-22, in the 4th SPES – Spirituality in the Economy and the Society Forum, hosted by the Centre for Economics and Ethics at the Catholic University of Leuven.
The topic centered on Europe in the context of globalisation, the spirit in the European culture and spirituality in business. A new feature was break-out sessions or workshops in the form of short, 15-min. presentations followed by a lively discussion round. I contributed a workshop on values-driven leadership which was relatively well attended and resulted in several inquiries about the EBBF activities and philosophy.
A SPES academic publication on frugality – a compilation directed by Prof. Laszlo Zsolnay of Budapest’s Economics University’s Ethics Centre – was presented prior to a friendly, animated evening dinner.
The conference was concluded with remarks by the hosting University’s faculty members on the welfare state, labor issues, and the concept of solidarity in the “European model”. Its Vice Rector, Economist Filip Abraham addressed pertinent questions in a speech on Europe’s social model in the wake of globalisation; he hosted the closing reception. Luc Van Liedekerke, of the Leuven University Ethics Centre, spoke on CSR as part of social Europe; he is the new president of the European Business Ethics Network, which met concurrently.
Among business discussed by the SPES Forum in its annual general meeting : Networking with new partners – cooperation with emerging networks on spirituality in business : including the European Baha’i Business Forum.
The 5th SPES conference will take place October 16-18, 2008, in Shangai, China and will be hosted by the China Europe International Business School (Host : Prof. Henri-Claude de Bettignies, who has joined SPES Steering Committee, the latter being competently chaired by Prof.em. Luk Bouckaert, the forum’s founder and driving force. Topic : The value of values for business : can East and West learn from each other ?
The 6th SPES conference is tentatively planned in the fall of 2009 in Catania, Sicily. Topic : Respect and democracy in business (Prof. Pasquale Arena hosting).
URL : www.eurospes.be will eventually cover this successful event in further detail.
Report on JADE European Confederation of Jr Enterprise Presidents' Conference, March 1-4, Brussels
JADE, the European Confederation of Junior Enterprises, which is one of the world's largest network of junior and student entrepreneurs with 20,000 members in 31 countries, staged its annual Presidents' Conference, March 1-4, in Brussels. I was invited to deliver the keynote address at the opening session, at the ING Bank's auditorium, on "Responsible Entrepreneurship - Making a Difference". 120 student entrepreneurs from all over Europe participated in this motivational and training event whose agenda included internal elections and excellence awards for the “Most innovative project”, the “Most entrepreneurial Junior Enterprise”, and “Most engaged Junior Entrepreneur”. On March 2, I gave a 2 1/2 hour interactive workshop, with three case studies, on "Values-based Leadership and CSR".
For the third consecutive year, I am honoured to represent EBBF on JADE's Advisory Board A breakfast meeting of the board took place in the early morning of March 2, at JADE's European executive board's office and housing building in the populous St. Josse ten Node Brussels district. It was attended by Arnaldo Abruzzini, Secretary General of Eurochambres, Tony Long, Director of the WWF European Policy Office, Lawrence Baker of the Baker & McKenzie Law Offices in Paris, and Natascha Waltke, Senior Advisor at BusinessEurope. It was hosted by Linh Ta Cam, (from the Netherlands) this year's Vice President for External Affairs, Johannes Weissmann (from Bavaria), President, and Agustin Rosa (from Portugal) Treasurer and Event Manager; these young people are giving one year to serve JADE at its headquarters in Brussels. This meeting provided a good opportunity of discussing JADE - which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, its coming events and future programs. Contributions are being sought for a JADE conference in October and JADE's activities. See here I plan to continue to advise JADE's executive board on events, topics and programs of interest to this network of skilled young student entrepreneurs. Even though JADE officers change every year, the continuity which permeates JADE's enthuisiasm and strategy in promoting entrepreneurship in Europe is remarkable.
The response of these motivated student entrepreneurs was heart warming. Be it from Spain, Germany, Austria, France, Portugal even my home country Switzerland, and the host country, Belgium, they expressed a keen interest in values expounded by EBBF. A Paderborn young entrepreneur, running Campus Consult, stayed on after the Friday workshop to tell me that he is a practicing Christian and wants to join an organization in Germany promoting our values. The preceding night, at the conference gala dinner, toward midnight, as I was already physically worn out, the president of the Jade UK branch (originally from Bulgaria) came to the head table to chat about the keynote presentation I gave earlier that day. Back home in Edinburgh on Monday morning, she wrote me : "It was a pleasure to meet you at the JADE Meeting in Brussels last weekend. As I said before, I was very inspired by your presentation and I am looking forward to meeting you again so we can discuss further. Best regards from Edinburgh, Desi."
