Youth entrepreneurship as a solution to the rising and persistent problem of youth unemployment was discussed with students on campus at an AEGEE-Valletta event entitled #2morrow2day addressed by MEP Miriam Dalli, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo and Chamber of Commerce president David Curmi.
Dalli said she was happy to see a large turnout of students interested in the cause, and hoped to see the spread of entrepreneurship among young people in Malta. She also commented on the need to provide young people with the skills and know-how to make businesses thrive, thereby helping to secure a better future for Malta.
Bartolo said it was important to work on changing the current mindset of the local education system, which he said “shackles” the entrepreneurial spirit, as opposed to encouraging and improving it.
He also spoke about the need for the students’ voice to be heard at all times rather than just on special occasions. He added that there should no longer be a society that “rewards silence and conformist thought”.
Curmi said there were no losers where entrepreneurship is concerned. New businesses create jobs, revenue and potential for investment. He said the problems young people face come from three different sources – the familiar level, that is, the cultural background and societal norms young people are exposed to; the economic level, which tends to see entrepreneurship as a risk as opposed to a career, and finally the State level, with problems of bureaucracy slowing the process for those willing to try new things.
A panel discussion with other experts in the field later discussed Net neutrality, EU schemes to help young people, and the differences and challenges faced when opening a local business as opposed to an international one.
The event was the first of several being organised by AEGEE-Valletta and Dalli aimed at promoting youth entrepreneurship. The project will take a European dimension when the reports and recommendations discussed in Malta will be compared and discussed with hundreds of European youths during a youth conference partly funded by the Finance Ministry to be held later this year.