Melissa MacMaster, youth entrepreneurship co-ordinator for St. F.X. Enterprise Development Centre, has been chosen to take part in the 2011 Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN) Workshop-Fair in Cotonou, Benin, Africa, Oct. 10 to 13. (Heather MacAdam photo)

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Sixty youth from across the world, including one from Antigonish, have been chosen to take part in the 2011 Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN) Workshop-Fair in Cotonou, Benin, Africa.
The conference will be held Oct. 10 to 13.
One of the 60 applicants selected is Melissa MacMaster, the youth entrepreneurship coordinator for St. F.X. Enterprise Development Centre.
There were several hundred applicants who applied to attend the GYIN Workshop-Fair.
MacMaster said she first heard about the GYIN workshop while she was doing research and planning the Atlantic Youth Entrepreneur Summit, which was held in May at St. F.X.
“At that time I came across the Global Youth Innovation Network and I noticed that they were going through an application process [for people] to apply to attend their conference in western Africa.”
MacMaster said the conference was appealing for a few reasons, including the fact that it was being held in Africa.
“The main thing was that it had that youth entrepreneurship focus to it. There’s two things I’m really passionate about – one is people choosing entrepreneurship as a viable career option and two is keeping youth in our rural and coastal communities.
“I felt that conference was in that kind of scope – it’s all youth-focused and some of the facilitation is going to done by youth.”
The application process was detailed with three essay components.
“They wanted to know how entrepreneurship played a role in my life.”
MacMaster said one of the questions she found most interesting was ‘what entrepreneur would you consider to be a role model or a leader in your life?’
“That’s something I never really thought of before so it was nice to just sit back and reflect around that.
“I choose Frank McKenna because of his leadership styles and everything that he’s done for his province … around economic community development and bringing jobs into his province. That’s something that I really want to do for our province and our community but with a focus around youth and entrepreneurship.”
After applying MacMaster said she was advised by the conference organizers that several hundred people applied and 60 would be chosen.
“Not just from Canada but from the entire world.”
In early August she received an email and phone call telling her she had been chosen.
“I was really, really excited. I read about the conference in May or June … and I didn’t really give it much thought after that. It was kind in the back of my mind that it was coming up and when I got the email I was just blown away.
“I get to take in this amazing learning opportunity and meet entrepreneurs from around the world.”
The conference will include a fair, workshops and discussions groups, she said.
“We’re going to work together and work outside in the community as well getting to know the people that live there in the city itself.”
The event honours and celebrates young entrepreneurs’ achievements. The specific objectives of the event are to bring together youths to share their perspectives and facilitating exchanges between them, in order to continuously learn more about each other’s successful business models, difficulties, solutions and innovations; to hear and debate among young entrepreneurs about the main problems, possible actions and solutions regarding youth employment and entrepreneurship.
GYIN aims to contribute to the reduction of poverty among poor rural youth in Africa and the Americas through exposure to opportunities and business prospects, innovation, and knowledge on replicable youth successful models in small scale agri-business, to enable them to create and engage in sustainable small scale agri-businesses. The GYIN works in collaboration with the Government of Benin, Activos Culturales Afro (ACUA), Palmares Fundaçao, Give1Project, CTA, and The Songhai Centre.