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NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 28, 2010
CHICAGO-AREA team “INKSPOT” Wins Responsible Business Ideas Contest
Innovative young entrepreneurs excel at business and social responsibility.
Colorado Springs,
Colo.
— Junior
Achievement and HP have
announced the winner of the North American HP Responsible
Business Ideas Contest. The contest recognizes students across the United States
and Canada for business ideas that best combine business practice with social
and environmental responsibility.
The award will be formally presented
at Junior Achievement’s North American Student Company of the Year event in
Minneapolis which will take place from July 18 - 20.
“Inkspot,”
developed by high school students from the Chicago area, created a scholastic
magazine. Generating advertising revenue was not their only achievement; Inkspot
also created a space for the student community to dialogue, and also supported
local artists by using their content in the magazine. They also demonstrated
corporate social responsibility by making donations and offering writing
workshops for students, staff and the general public. Inkspot selected their
suppliers based on sustainability criteria, and leveraged social media channels
for promotion.
“The HP Responsible Business Ideas Contest
targets the development of business and work-readiness skills while teaching the
value of corporate social responsibility,” said
Sandy Daffé, president of Junior Achievement of Chicago.
“We are grateful to HP for its commitment to educating youth about
entrepreneurship and global citizenship, and to supporting Junior Achievement’s
mission to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global
economy.”
“Inkspot
exemplifies HP’s vision of a strong commitment to global citizenship
and social and environmental innovation. Creating a sense of responsibility
while developing entrepreneurial and micro-business skills is of paramount
importance,” said Gabi Zedlmayer,
Vice President, Office of Global Social Innovation, HP. “Through our partnership
with Junior Achievement, we can help educate tomorrow’s business leaders to
safeguard our world and our shared economy. “
The Responsible Business Ideas Contest is part of the
Responsible Business Competition, a flagship program of HP and JA-YE Europe, JA
Latin America and JA U.S. The competition encourages students in JA-YE and JA
entrepreneurship education programs to consider social and environmental
responsibility. This year for the first time the competition took a global
dimension with the launch of a Facebook Responsible Business Challenge. Students
were asked to consider the world in 2020 and submit
business ideas that could have a positive effect on the general public and the
world around them. Nearly 1,900 young people took up the challenge and
130 of those submissions were shortlisted. The winners came from Romania, Canada
and India.
Notes to
Editors:
Responsible
Business Ideas Contest
This competition was open to JA students from the North American Region aged
15-18. The ideas were judged on the following
criteria:
1.
Demonstrate strong market potential:
showing the ability to be profitable and competitive.
2.
Demonstrate social responsibility:
meeting the wider concerns of stakeholders such as employees, suppliers,
customers and local communities.
3.
Demonstrate environmental excellence:
preventing pollution, optimizing resource efficiency and developing products
with minimal environmental impacts.
4.
Be innovative:
innovative approach of business solution.
The winning
team will receive an HP product for each member of the team (max. 5), and each
member of the team (max. 5) will be invited to attend the North American JA
Company of the Year Competition 2010, which will take place in Minneapolis from
July 18 - 20.
About JA Worldwide® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring
and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated
volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school
programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness,
entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 126 individual area operations
reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional
5.7 million students served by operations in 122 other countries worldwide. For
more information, visit www.ja.org.
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