FNUniv Launches Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Camp

(Friday, August 10, 2012) Approximately 15 students will be gathering over the upcoming week for the fourth annual First Nations University (FNUniv) Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Camp.

Held at the FNUniv’s Regina campus, the camp strives to encourage Aboriginal youth to consider entrepreneurship and small business management as career options.

The students, who range from grades 11-12, will have a chance to meet Saskatchewan’s leading Aboriginal entrepreneurs, go on field trips, design and shoot a television commercial, and compete for prizes against fellow youth entrepreneurs. The camp will feature presentations and hands-on learning opportunities in topics such as marketing, advertising, cash flow projections, creating successful business plans and the power of networking.

“Our main objective in hosting the camp is to broaden Aboriginal youth’s educational horizon and to include university as a part of their career planning. The camp is an engaging way to learn about First Nations entrepreneurship and experience university life. On a broader level, our program is recognized by both industry and academia as an important economic and learning tool for Aboriginal youth in Saskatchewan,” says Richard Missens, FNUniv Executive Director of Community Relations and faculty member of the FNUniv School of Business and Public Administration.

While the majority of the students are from Saskatchewan, the camp has also attracted Aboriginal youth from British Columbia and Labrador.

“This is a further sign of how FNUniv’s reputation is growing across Canada,” said Missens. Many of the presenters and instructors at the camp are alumni of the FNUniv’s business courses, including camp coordinator Jennifer Dubois who was a second place finalist in W. Brett Wilson’s “The Boom Box” competition on CBC Saskatchewan.

The camp runs from August 12-17. The camp launches on Sunday with a ceremonial pipe ceremony and tipi raising and concludes on Friday with student presentations and awards.

A detailed timetable is appended.

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