Waterloo - The future potential entrepreneurs of Waterloo Region - young people from some of the area's secondary schools -- are gathering for a special day on Wednesday, November 11th to hear what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Some 250 students will converge on Bingeman's Conference Centre to listen to entrepreneurs and share ideas about how to turn innovative ideas into a viable business. It's the fourth annual Leading Edge Youth Entrepreneurship Conference staged in conjunction with Communitech's annual Entrepreneur Week.

"We're looking forward to this year's program with a record turnout of students," said Alayne Hynes, program manager of the Business and Education Partnership (BEP) and event organizer. "It's great to see that teachers recognize the importance of entrepreneurism and are supportive of students attending."

The conference includes presentations by various area entrepreneurs, and hands-on opportunities for students to develop and present business plans. Students participating are involved in the STEM program (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), business stream, or DECA Ontario program at their respective schools.

"It's a priority for us to include students in Entrepreneur Week activities because they literally will be the future workforce and drivers of entrepreneurism," said Iain Klugman, president and CEO of Communitech. "Especially in a challenging economy, having the knowledge and ability to run a business puts these young people in an ideal position to succeed."

Presenters involved in the Youth Conference include:

- Natalie McNeil of garageentrepreneur.com

- Paul Maxwell of Maxwell's Music House

- Lina Shamoun of Artline Salon

- Barry Bisson of Shad Valley

- Christine Dwyer of Junior Achievement

- Jaclyn Konzelmann of EPIC

In addition to the high school student program, a Science Superheroes lecture will be held for teachers and guidance counselors from Waterloo Region to help increase understanding of career opportunities for young people in the fields of science, tech, engineering and math. Entrepreneur Week 2009 also features events at two local universities. Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes will speak at the University of Waterloo and Andy Macaulay of ZiG will speak at Wilfrid Laurier.

Entrepreneur Week in Waterloo Region is the largest such event of its kind in North America and coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week. For further information about Entrepreneur Week in the Region go to: http://entrepreneurweek.somethingon.com/