European SME (small and medium-size entrepreneurships) Week 2010, which will take place from 25 May to 1 June, aims to:
– provide information on what the EU and national, regional and local authorities are offering as support to micro, small and medium-sized businesses;
– promote entrepreneurship so that more people, and in particular younger ones, seriously consider becoming an entrepreneur as a career option;
– give recognition to entrepreneurs for their contribution to Europe’s welfare, jobs, innovation and competitiveness.
Launched in 2009, the European SME Week is coordinated by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry as one of the measures implementing Principle 1 of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) , which states that “the EU and Member States should create an environment within which entrepreneurs and family businesses can thrive and entrepreneurship is rewarded”.
European SME Week 2010 is a pan-European campaign taking place in 37 participating countries, which is however fully decentralized in order for events and activities to take place as close as possible to the established and potential entrepreneurs themselves. Events will be organized at national, regional or local level by business organizations, business support providers, as well as by national, regional and local authorities in the participating countries. These events should also be an opportunity for existing SMEs to share their experiences and to further develop their businesses.
In 2009 …
… more than 1,200 national, regional and local events took place in various settings as part of European SME Week, addressing a wide range of topics:
- from a conference on efficient management of innovation by SMEs in Barcelona, Spain, to information days on aid provided to SMEs in Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- from an educational competition in entrepreneurship in Tours, France, to a regional leaders of innovation competition in Torun, Poland;
- from a seminar on female entrepreneurs in the development of Wallonia, Belgium, to training mentors for better integration of young apprentices in Luxembourg;
- from a European Day of Entrepreneurship in Bitola, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, to a workshop on Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs in Udine, Italy…
All the details HERE