3.10 Promotion of entrepreneurship culture
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Special events and activities
Many trainings and events are organized for youth entrepreneurship here. Attention is also paid to entrepreneurship education in the Youth Capitals. In Marijampole, which was the youth capital of Lithuania in 2023, the international youth entrepreneurship training camp "EnterpriseYou" took place on July 17-22, 2023. The 30 young people from Lithuania, Iceland and Spain who participated in the camp did not only improve their entrepreneurial competences. The international youth camp "EnterpriseYou" is part of a larger project that has been implemented for two years together with partners from Iceland and Spain. The program of this camp, with all the methods and activities used, will appear in a new methodological publication for youth entrepreneurship education, which will be addressed to persons working with youth. And in the future, trainings in Spain for persons working with youth in the field of entrepreneurship education and a presentation conference of the created methodical publication are foreseen in Iceland.
In addition, entrepreneurship weeks are organized in individual municipalities of Lithuania, as well as in educational institutions, where young people acquire entrepreneurial knowledge.
Networks and partnerships
Junior Achievement and Innovation Agency actively promote youth entrepreneurship.
Lithuanian Junior Achievement (https://lja.lt/verslui/) is the first non-governmental organization in Lithuania that has been successfully implementing progressive economic education, entrepreneurship education, financial literacy and career education programs in general education schools, vocational training institutions and higher education institutions for 30 years. LJA programs annually reach over 20,000 students from more than 400 schools and 73 cities and localities in Lithuania. Students are educated by over 500 teachers trained by Junior Achievement, and students gain practical experience in more than 250 young companies created every year (https://lja.lt/apie-mus/). Therefore, this large-scale organization is well placed to form a positive image of entrepreneurship both among young people and the wider business community. Community efforts include the Business Hall of Fame, which aims to promote successful entrepreneurs. One of the most important roles of "Junior Achievement" in Lithuania is the training of its teachers, because they can increase the entrepreneurial understanding of these important examples for young people. Business and public sector leaders participate in youth education: they advise, become mentors, provide practice opportunities. The organization's investors and partners support and contribute to the implementation of educational programs and the personal growth of each young person.
The Ministry of Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania, in order to promote youth entrepreneurship and implement entrepreneurship education projects, has signed a cooperation agreement with the organization VšĮ Lithuanian Junior Achievement - the leader of youth business and economic education programs in Lithuania. Lithuanian Junior Achievement Public Company helps prepare young people for their professional and practical activities.
The Innovation Agency also actively promotes entrepreneurship. This agency was established in 2022 on the basis of the former Lithuanian Business Support Agency (LVPA), entrepreneurship and export development agency "Versli Lietuva", and after consolidating the innovative activities performed by the Science, Innovation and Technology Agency (MITA).
One of their missions is to fight the youth's fear that entrepreneurship will not succeed. Examples of promotion activities include participation in entrepreneurship events and a planned national mentoring network.
The Entrepreneurship Promotion Fund (VSF) operates in Lithuania and is managed by ILTE (National Promotional Bank (NPB)). Activity reports have been published every year since 2016 (here).
Social entrepreneurship
The social business promotion system in Lithuania is operational: there is both support and a community of such businesses here. There is a training platform here, designed specifically for young social businesses who want to plan and measure impact and improve their business model. The platform is available to anyone who has registered a social business or a business idea for such a business.