In early October, Media Plaza of Jaarbeurs filled up with just under 700 would-be entrepreneurs. It was the kick-off of the new (entrepreneurial) year of Jong Ondernemen. A day where buckets of inspiration, knowledge and atmosphere were shared. Jonas de Groot, director of the foundation, talks about the event and how it came about.
We bear a large part of the responsibility, as we are, after all, the ones putting together the programme. But the logistical side of things is just as important here. Jaarbeurs knows exactly how to organise this brilliantly.Jonas de Groot, director of the Jong Ondernemen foundation
Jong Ondernemen is a foundation that develops entrepreneurship programmes for education. The foundation is the platform for entrepreneurship at school and helps young people discover their talents. Jonas: 'The labour market is changing. This means that different skills are required than before. For example, flexibility, creativity and problem-solving. These are the 21st century skills. We pay attention to these skills by offering programmes for primary school, secondary school, mbo, hbo and wo. One of our programmes is Junior Company, in which upper secondary pupils set up and run their own company during an entire school year. The same also happens at secondary school and college with Student Company.'
The kick-off for these programmes took place at Media Plaza. The‘Start-up Festival’was entirely dedicated to inspiring budding entrepreneurs. Jonas: ‘The day began with a power session, during which we performed a haka together under Hakaman’s guidance to warm up for the day. It was nerve-wracking, but how special was it to perform something like that with hundreds of people at the same time? Then came the speakers. Ron Simpson, Eva Eikhout and Roger Olivieira spoke about their experiences of entrepreneurship. The speakers had the audience’s full attention; the stage is really trendy and stylish – it’s right in the middle of the hall. And the chairs are arranged around it. That meant a lot of walking about and engaging with the audience, which made the atmosphere incredibly interactive and stimulating.
It’s lovely to see how enthusiastic everyone was. I spoke to lots of participants myself that day, and I heard nothing but positive stories.’
According to Jonas, this was down to a combination of factors. For one thing, the speakers were fantastic and provided plenty of inspiration and motivation. At the end of the day, the DJ played some great tracks and there were drinks at the bar: ‘We had one goal in mind: for young people to leave feeling inspired. We’re largely responsible for that, as we put the programme together. But the logistical side of things is just as important here. Jaarbeurs knows exactly how to organise this brilliantly. The service during the preparations and on the day itself, the lunch, drinks, décor and the venue itself. Media Plaza is a brilliant venue. For example, we had all these white chairs and great lighting – it really felt like an event. That certainly helps to inspire people.’
Jong Ondernemen is a foundation, so we have to take a critical look at where the budget is going. Jonas: ‘We have to watch every penny. That includes choosing the venue. We took a whole host of factors into account. Accessibility, for example: the venue had to be easily accessible by public transport, but also by coaches. On the other hand, you only spend your money once, so you also want a guarantee that everything will go smoothly. We knew that with Jaarbeurs. We’ve been working together for some time now and we know that Jaarbeurs goes the extra mile for events like this.’
What the future holds, Jonas does not yet know. But that he is delighted with the cooperation is clear. Jonas: 'We can read and write with Jaarbeurs and our permanent contact Corry. She is strict about deadlines and numbers, but professionally strict. Everything we agree on is right. It's a matter of blind trust. That makes a difference, you have to do so much less yourself as an organiser as a result.'
'Everything we agree on is right. It's a matter of blind trust'
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