Stabroek News Sunday

Iative, US Embassy to sponsor Youth Innovation Camp

-

are going to ys of business to learn about is, entrepreth­eir country. with entreprea, you know w to pitch your on to that, we opportunit­y to towards their pitch compethe

selection e team will be ost unique yet osals tendered ot necessaril­y ness stream at g for any kind sort of local elp to develop

15 to 17 years rom the busicause business here. We want enough, just chool, looking do. They can selves instead one, they can ds in if they ecially excited oming out of One and Two, YLAI alumna

ned that the nitiative have ers of medium rt-ups as preexperie­nce in

have in mind to have testieens; a generdo a business ve a break out go into detail pitch, coping are looking to s Stacey Dos Visit Guyana to make them understand at this young age that you have to have a love for your country, and not everyone could beat out and she’s the embodiment of something along those lines,” she said.

In addition to the guest speakers, the members of the YLAI alumni will be hosting breakout sessions based on business practices learnt during the course of their fellowship overseas.

“What we intend to have happen is that apart from providing and presenting, we would like to do followups in say about six months or a year, to see what they have done and I think that is also going to be on a personal level because this is a volunteer project for us, although it is completely funded by the US Government, we are giving our time to do this. We are going to be here to give advice, interact and keep in touch with them,” she shared.

Another interestin­g element of the camp is one that Yarde said was pulled from having previously attended empowermen­t workshops hosted by First Lady Sandra Granger, where the team will be focusing on dealing with the ups and downs of owning a business.

“I took an element from that programme and implemente­d it to talk about realistic values and realistic accomplish­ments; to talk about what life is really like and that it is not like what is seen in music videos or something, so that is an entire half day. We are going to teach them about believing in themselves and their community, maintainin­g a balanced life, and tips and ideas on how to accept that it is not always perfect,” she explained.

In terms of her encouragem­ent to those who are unsure whether to apply, Yarde said, “Specifical­ly for the outer regions, it’s hard. I live in Region Three and if I didn’t make myself registered in all of these different organizati­ons or agencies, then I wouldn’t have gotten to go to different meetings and have access to different types of knowledge. You should apply if you have that idea that you want to start your own business then this is a good chance for you to position yourself in the right circles for knowledge, product, marketing for self-developmen­t, selfimprov­ement. It is going to be something they remember for the rest of their lives.”

As a requiremen­t for the programme, applicatio­ns must consist of teams of three members, among whom persons have been identified as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and they must also have a viable business idea and a business plan which can be implemente­d.

Participan­ts’ accommodat­ion, meals and travel will be covered by the U.S. Embassy and YLAI Guyana.

Teams interested in applying are asked to do so digitally by filling up applicatio­ns that are available on the website https://docs.google.com/… /1FAIpQLSfm­DRF1GAnLyX­Lzgw… /viewform. Submission­s can be made to either 592 Tees, Courtyard Mall, 76-77 Robb St, Lacytown, Georgetown or via email to: alum@ylai.gy . The deadline for submission­s is November 15th, 2017.

For additional informatio­n or questions, persons are asked to visit YLAI’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ YoungLeade­rsofGuyana.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Guyana