The "School of Entrepreneurs" program of Junior Achievement Foundation Spain It is sponsored by the EY Foundation and is aimed at students between the ages of 15 and 20 who participate in the Mini-business program to develop their own business. In this context, the School for Entrepreneurs has the opportunity to learn first-hand about real and inspiring stories related to entrepreneurship and the world of work. In this way, they convey to young people how with vision, willpower and a lot of work they managed to become architects of their own future, contributing, at the same time, to identifying the skills that companies demand and the academic-professional orientation of students. Within the project, the Madrid City Council collaborates with the Madrid Capital de Moda initiative.
The inauguration of this XVI edition of the School for Entrepreneurs was carried out by Alberto Placencia, President Foundation Junior Achievement Spain. In his speech he presented both the services and values of his Foundation as the benefits and opportunities for students within the School of Entrepreneurship.
The next intervention came from the hand of, Ms. Concha Díaz de Villegas, Managing Director of Commerce and Entrepreneurship of the Madrid City Council which highlighted the continuous support of the Madrid City Council both to entrepreneurship in general and to the fashion sector in particular with the creation of the project Madrid Capital of Fashion. Concha pointed out that this sector "is not only a unique opportunity for the entrepreneurs present, but it is also a dynamic element of trade and the economy of the city of Madrid".
Javier Garilleti, Managing Director EY Foundation, made a presentation entitled "Sustainable Fashion as an opportunity for Entrepreneurship". During his speech, he spoke about the great opportunities that young people currently have to develop their professional careers in this field. In addition, he appealed to everyone's responsibility: "Fashion is an expansive business with great opportunities, but we must think as professionals and consumers about the impact it has on the Environment”.
Next, the entrepreneur Kavita Parmar shared her entrepreneurial experience as Founder of THE IOU PROJECT. This sustainable fashion project counts as a disruptive element that each of the garments is accompanied by a code that allows tracking who is the producer of the raw material, who makes the design, who produces the garment and who buys it. In this way, a “history” and consumers are made participants of having made a responsible purchase and helping producers committed to the environment. Within his presentation, Kavita alluded that the current way of consuming that follows the model of“Use and throw”it is not adequate: “the current consumption model is monstrous. We can help change it. It is not about saving the planet but about saving ourselves\" he said.
The next entrepreneurs to tell us about their experience were Carlota Gramunt and Mariana Gramunt from SIDIKAI, a sustainable fashion project that was a finalist in the last awards Entrepreneurs 2017. They made their presentation of "Passion + Innovation = Revolution". Within their exhibition, in which they explained their motivations to undertake in the world of fashion, they highlighted that their vision of sustainable fashion is to "Transform all wardrobes into sustainable wardrobes... garment by garment. Dress every day to make a difference”. With this statement, he proposes that in the future an entire related industry can be changed.
The last of the entrepreneurs to present her project was, Carolina Blazquez Creator of the Department of Innovation and Sustainability of ECOLAF, with his presentation "Innovation and Sustainability as a driver of change”. In it, Carolina explained how they set out to be the first fashion brand to use totally recycled products made from nets, plastics, tires, cotton and wool, maintaining the quality of the garments and having a minimum environmental impact. “To undertake is to go from being part of the problem to being part of the solution\» he pointed out. Carolina talked about how this sustainability mission led them to create projects like Upcycling the Oceans (UTO) in which the garbage that is destroying our oceans is collected and turned into a premium thread to make fabrics and products.
closed the day Blanca Narvaez, Managing Director of Foundation Junior Achievement with the turn of questions and conclusions of the day. As a summary, two main conclusions could be drawn. On the one hand, fashion is a growing market and a current opportunity for those young people who want to develop a lasting professional career and start their entrepreneurial project. On the other hand, since fashion is the industry that pollutes the most after the oil industry, it is necessary to make a change of mentality when it comes to not only producing garments and accessories in a sustainable way, but also educating consumers to buy responsibly.
If you want to know more about the projects participating in the conference:
– Junior Achievement Foundation: http://fundacionjaes.org/
– EY Foundation: http://www.ey.com/
– IOU Project. http://iouproject.com/
– sidikai. http://sidikai.es/
– Ecoalf. https://ecoalf.com/es/
– Madrid Capital of Fashion: https://www.madridcapitaldemoda.com/
The day had a sign language translator and was available to those who needed it.
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