Advancing entrepreneurship education

The Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Group convened its inaugural meeting from September 26-28, 2007 at the Aspen Institute in Aspen, Colorado. A group of dynamic national leaders from the fields of education, entrepreneurship and business, public policy, media, and philanthropy met over three days to explore the promise of, and obstacles to, implementing youth entrepreneurship education in low-income communities nationwide. In partnership with E*TRADE Financial, the Aspen Institute and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) created this educational public policy initiative to develop a concrete, viable strategy to advance the teaching of entrepreneurship--specifically in Title I high schools--and to prompt public discussion and action on teaching entrepreneurship to increased numbers of high school students from low-income communities. The conference was moderated by Dr. Jonathan Ortmans, President of the Public Forum institute, who has over 15 years of experience and decision making in the public policy field. This paper describes the highlights of the conference.