I’ve spent this morning, my first day back in Blighty, panning for inbox gold.  So here are ten possible nuggets for your delight;

Followers of the economic crisis will know that it’s not over ‘until the fat lady sings’, so may want to check out Impropera’s return to the Leicester Square Theatre, for that to happen.

Someone else hitting the high notes this week is Molly Bedingfield, mother of Daniel and Natasha, who is about to leap out of a plane (with parachute attached) above Mount Everest, raising money for her charity, Global Angels.

This will impress Global Angels ambassador, Mike Southon, the Beermat Entrepreneur, who has written another excellent column in the FT.

Trailing in Mike’s wake, I’m excited to see my second column appear in Growing Business magazine this month. 

Writing about all things entrepreneurial is something which is second nature to Raj Patel, who has moved on this month from the brilliant team at Make Your Mark to the Learning and Skills Network.

If it’s brilliant teams which you’re after, then look no further than author and occasional Daily Networker reader Doug Miller’s new book on the subject, out this week in all good bookshops!

One team I would like to see in action, but haven’t to date, is that of John Cleese and Stephen Fry.  These national treasures have both recently joined Twitter, so their up-to-the-minute antics (especially Stephen’s in Africa) are being shared with an audience which is growing by the day. 

New audiences is one of the subjects of the latest publication from think-tank Demos.  Video Republic explores how young people are using video to express themselves and connect with the world around them.

The campaigners showcased on Channel 4’s latest commission, Battlefront, are no strangers to using both videos and Twitter to get their messages out.  I’m looking forward to helping Jordan promote his SALAD campaign and my ‘mentor’ page has just gone live up on the main site.  Jordan’s page is over here if you have time to check it out!

Beginning and ending with performing ladies, the lovely Emily Dubberley (and others) are promoting the Burlesque against Breast Cancer Ball in Hove on November 6th.  Tickets for this fantastic event are over here. 

I’ve been catching up with Martha Cervantes, who works with Impulsa, hosts of the Mexico City Whistlestop Event.  

OB:  Hi Martha, can you tell me, briefly, what Impulsa does?

MC: We are Junior Achievement in Mexico.  We teach economics and financial literacy to students from K to 12 grade, through hands-on programs, taught by volunteers in the classroom.  We inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.

OB:  Excellent!  And how are plans shaping up for Global Entrepreneurship Week? 

MC: Impulsa has been working with Endeavor.  Between us, the main, national activities we have planned include;

–       a Launch Inauguration Event, in Mexico City.  We are inviting the Minister of Economy and plan to have 1000 students attending.  At the end of this Inauguration event we will release helium balloons (one for each student) with an entrepreneurship message written by each student.  At the same time all partners in the country will do the same in their own cities (schools, universities, companies, etc).

–       a National Job Shadow Day.  Hundreds of students will shadow a business man or women, executive, politician, or any other professional, in the area of interest of the student, for a complete working day.  These high school students will learn firsthand what the real work world is about.

–       We will launch an entrepreneurship portal that will link all JA entrepreneurship programs, plus many others that are in operation in the country.  The address will be www.mundoemprendedor.org.mx and will be supported by IBM servers and software.

–       Endeavor will have their Annual Gala Dinner during this week.

–       We have secured the support of several media leaders: Televisa and Grupo Editorial Expansion, among others.

–       IBM is actively participating in the week activities.

–       Currently we are following up on partners, to make sure that they are registered in the webpage and that are adding their activities to it.  We plan to have at least 100 partners registered.

OB:  That’s a terrific amount! Tell us about your Whistlestop Speednetworking Event event?  How was it?  What sort of people came?  What was the feedback like?

MC: It was a great oportunity to join people that could be involved  Global Entrepreneurship Week and to share expectations about the program.  

OB:  How can people get involved with what you’re doing in Global Entrepreneurship Week?

MC: They can contact us at Impulsa: (55) 5211-9444, Endeavor: (55) 5282-1680, or through the Unleashing Ideas website.

 OB:  Thanks Martha –  Any final messages for the reader of this blog?

MC:  This has been a very exciting challenge and we are looking forward for many successes, not only for us, but for everyone involved around the globe!

The penultimate Speednetworking event was at Trinity College Dublin.  Here’s Brian Martin explaining how it went!

 

I decide not to talk to her at first.  Partly because she is sporting a full-length, fully-done-up raincoat, in hearing-aid beige.  Partly, if I’m honest, because it’s the start of a thirteen hour long-haul flight to Johannesburg.  And being frightfully British, there’s always the outside chance that she may just be returning from the World Talking Championships.  The final reason for not saying hello, is that she’s asleep.  Well if a pre-take-off snooze is good enough for a gold medallist in a mac, then it’s good enough for me. So I slip into what I hope will be a quiet slumber.

I awake to find her reading my book.  Not browsing the outside cover, but reading the thing.  She has even picked up at chapter sixteen, exactly where I had put it down. The cheek!  The very cheek!  What to do?  What to say?  Should I summon the cabin crew with a poke of the bell button (overeacting to the felony surely?), or should I swipe my credit card phone, calling the police? Instead, I rather nonchalantly lean forward to the seat pocket in front of me, to pick out another choice of reading.  And that’s when I find my book.  My actual book, as opposed to the one which I have recently accused the fine woman of pilfering.  Two people, sat next to each other, long haul, reading the same chapter of the same book, bought in different locations (it transpires).

“What are the chances of that?”

I ask, with all of the warmth and forgiveness I can muster.  And so begins an entirely charming conversation. Which lasts for twelve and three quarter hours.  Not really, but it was enjoyable none the less.

Seriously though, what are the chances? On the one hand, it’s remarkable.  On the other, it isn’t.  Because how many books, good books, actually go on sale, in English, in these airports far from home?  How many are by internationally renowned authors?  I reckon it boils down to a couple of hundred.  Or five if you’re shopping in Santiago. 

This has been the most incredible week.  In the last three cities on the Whistlestop Tour, I have been hosted by three of the most fantastic people I have met in years.  Matt Jones in Sydney, Dash (just Dash) in Kuala Lumpur, and Houghton Wan in Hong Kong.  From the minute we met, we got on.  They picked me up at the airport, hosted me for meals, and gave me a terrific insight into their country and entrepreneurial culture.  All of them are working to make Global Entrepreneurship Week a success, and involving hundreds of other organisations in the process.

What are the chances of travelling to the other side of the world and yet meeting an individual with whom you could certainly become firm friends with at home?  On the one hand it’s remarkable.  On the other, it isn’t.  There’s something about The Week (connecting people across seventy five countries, to have ideas and make them happen), which attracts a cetain kind of person.  It’s easy not to engage.  Everyone’s busy.  But when you do, it’s amazing the kind of kindred spirits you meet.  If you haven’t got on board already, there’s still time – Global Entrepreneurship Week is almost ready for take off!