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EACEA National Policies Platform
Belgium-German-Speaking-Community

Belgium-German-Speaking-Community

3. Employment & Entrepreneurship

3.10 Promotion of entrepreneurship culture

Last update: 28 November 2023
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  1. Special events and activities
  2. Networks and partnerships

Special events and activities

Young companies (Miniunternehmen)

The principle of young companies, also called mini companies, is based on founding a company formed by the students of the upper years of secondary school and who start their business for one year.

They set up their own limited company with their own business idea. The shares (five euros) are normally sold to parents and relatives. The young people can then run their company with the seed capital. Within the “companies” there are, as in reality, workers and various directors whose areas of responsibility go from production monitoring and staff support to finances. A CEO forms the head of the company and is the representative to the outside world.

Such projects are taking place all over Belgium under the direction of “Jeunes Entreprises”. This organisation supports the small companies and assumes the role of the state. This means that social security contributions and taxes are paid to this organisation.

In return the mini companies receive support in the form of documentation about the areas of responsibility of the directors as well as printed forms for share certificates that form the seed capital of the company. The aim of the project is to give the students a practical impression of the professional world and the functioning of a business.

The payment of wages and taxes is as much part of everyday life as constant meetings and drawing up balance sheets. During the project they are supported by their subject teacher and a supervisor of the “Jeunes Entreprises” organisation. The mini companies set up by the students are intended to exist for one year. After that the profits earned are paid out to the shareholders.

How I met my idea” - cultural and creative economy in the German-speaking Community

As part of the Interreg project Creative Drive the media centre is a partner of the ambitious undertaking to offer the sector a lobby and to drive forward the creation of the sector in the German-speaking Community. This initiative is also a part of the regional development concept (Regionales Entwicklungskonzept, REK) and is integrated into the future project “Stimulating innovation”. The data collected so far on the cultural and creative economy show that with 500 positions the German-speaking Community is already home to a strong creative potential - the ideal foundation for a creative and entertaining evening.

How can the combination of creative ideas with traditional economic sectors be enabled? In the globalised world economy innovation will in future be the guarantee of growth and stability. This simple finding seems to apply increasingly also in the businesses of the German-speaking Community. And creative ideas for modern products, services or processes will for certain experience stronger demand in the near future than was previously the case.

Networks and partnerships

School & Business study group

The School & Business study group (Studienkreis Schule & Wirtschaft) is a combination of committed representatives from educational and training establishments, companies, public and private institutions and organisations, associations and private individuals whose main aim is to promote voluntary cooperation between schools and business.

The study group would like to achieve this by

  • promoting mutual understanding between school and business;
  • enabling a continuous exchange of information;
  • stepping up the cooperation of school and business by practical activities.

The study group offers a framework for these objectives and is open to interested representatives of all disciplines and all sectors of the economy. In the study group the participants become cooperation partners who can achieve their interests with equal rights and based on meeting as partners.

The School & Business study group stands at the interface between the educational and employment system.

In our everyday life increasingly complex issues arise whether in the choice of profession, in the daily routine, when shopping, when entering into contracts or dealing with authorities. So it is an important task to prepare children and young people in our society, to exercise their rights and duties autonomously and responsibly, among other things in economic life.

The School & Business study group is collecting tips and help as to how the cooperation of School & Business can be successfully designed, as well as initiatives supporting the education providers and companies in setting cooperation in motion.