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Students look to combine pursuing profit with improving social welfare

"The conference has been really inspiring; you can get an idea of how much better the world can be."

Teresa Lii, participant in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation International Youth Camp

Are business and social welfare compatible? The business leaders of tomorrow think so.

Student leaders in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) International Youth Camp in Taipei declared yesterday that they believe community service and entrepreneurship to be "two sides of the same coin" and encouraged entrepreneurial education for youth.

Over 200 participants from 15 APEC economies presented their collective vision for the future of entrepreneurialism at the week-long camp, sponsored by the National Youth Commission.

Consolidated Vision

Yesterday's statement represented the consolidated vision of local and international student leaders aged 15 to 23 after they participated in two days of student presentations and speeches from noted business leaders and academics on the theme of this year's conference: youth entrepreneurialism.

"The competitive abilities of youth are the foundation of a country's competitive advantage," said commission head Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) at the conference's opening ceremony on Thursday.

A nation's youth is its future, and encouraging entrepreneurship in youth is the key to national development, she said.

In their declaration, the students suggested that schools incorporate entrepreneurial education into high school and college curriculums and encourage community service.

Community service provides youth with opportunities to develop their social consciences while providing training management qualities important to business, the youths said.

That the young people emphasized social welfare along with entrepreneurship surprised some adults at the conference.

"To me, making money is one thing and doing community service another," said Ray Chin (金仁初), team leader for the National Experimental High School at the Science-Based Industrial Park team out of Hsinchu.

Doubtful

Chin, who is a teacher at the school, said that he was doubtful about the feasibility of business-oriented coursework in high school or middle school. However, he said that the commitment and direction of many of the aspiring entrepreneurs at the conference were amazing.

Many teams were passionate about entrepreneurialism as an economic tool.

"I want to develop my country," said Daniel Lastra Granda, member of the conference's Peru team.

Fellow Peru members expressed admiration for the progress in Taiwan's economy, saying that Peru has much to learn from Taiwan'.

Peru

In Taiwan, there is a high level of organization in government administration and money flow is dynamic, said Jose Galvez Agurto, a recent high school graduate from Peru who plans to study macroeconomics in college.

Peru needs to develop a more active economy; people in Peru are too passive, Galvez said. People save instead of spending because there's no confidence in the government or in Peru's social order, added team member Diego Rojas.

In addition to entrepreneurialism, another focus of the camp was to provide young people a chance for international exchange, commission members said.

Interacting with the international teams helps one appreciate the uniqueness of Taiwanese culture and also learn about others' cultures, said Erica Lin, a junior at National Experimental High School and a member of the Science-Based Industrial Park team out of Hsinchu.

`Optimistic'

"The Taiwanese are great! They're very friendly, optimistic and openminded," Rojas said.

In all, students said that they found the conference eye-opening.

"The conference has been really inspiring; you can get an idea of how much better the world can be," said participant Teresa Lii.

To learn more about the youth camp, see the camp's Web site at www.apecyouthcamp.org.
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