By Gideon C. Corgue
PAGADIANC CITY – Social entrepreneur Junaflor Cerilles, the Provincial Federated President of Women Empowerment Movement-Rural Improvement Club (WEM-RIC) of Zamboanga del Sur shared her experience about her attendance to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) Youth 2014 in Morocco.
Speaking during a media forum recently held by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) at the Anastacia Pension House here, Cerilles said she had learned a lot from the GES youth summit held in Marrakesh University, Marrakesh, Morocco last Nov. 19.
The GES Youth 2014 is a one-day gathering of young entrepreneurs who have recently started new firms around the world, featuring master class skills training sessions on leveraging local eco-systems and scaling up ventures and opportunities for delegates, and sharing success stories while connecting, sharing and learning from their peers.
Cerilles said there were some 7,000 young entrepreneurs who came to Marrakesh with full innovative ideas and left with high hopes of achieving their dreams with their inspiring success stories.
The delegates, Cerilles said, were drawn from Young African Leaders Initiative Network in Sub-Saharan, Africa, Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative from Southeast Asia, Middle East, and North Africa, South and Central Asia, and Europe, respectively.
Cerilles said various speakers were invited to discuss topics related to dense and diverse spirit of innovation and daring the standards that must be guiding any new entrepreneur.
“Among those who were invited was US Vice President Joe Bedin who stressed the importance of a country investing in the youth,” Cerilles said adding that “there are economic returns in investing in the youth.
In his message, Bedin encouraged women to empower themselves by taking interests in things that affect their daily lives and protect their intellectual property, as the government cannot do it alone without the help of all stakeholders.
Cerilles viewed the GES 2014 as a time of unprecedented sharing of experience, cultures and dreams for a bright future, making the youth ready to meet the great challenges of the day.
In the summit, Cerilles said there were many programs introduced such as Global Innovation Through Science and Technology, online education, among others.
Cerilles hopes to implement what she had learned from the summit in her own organization, the WEM-RIC, whose members now reach 10,000.