With the Changemaker program, we make entrepreneurial thinking and action tangible for primary school children. We arouse interest in economic relationships and encourage children to participate confidently in the economy and society through active project work.
The inspiration for this came from "Lemonade Day", an American initiative that allows children to become entrepreneurially active in a playful way and in which more than 1 million young people have already taken part.
Together with our partners from the Initiative for Teaching Entrepreneurship and the University of Teacher Education Vienna/Krems, we decided in 2017 to develop an "Austrian-style" Lemonade Day with which we want to bring as many primary school children as possible into contact with entrepreneurship in an entertaining and exciting way.
The basic idea is simple: we train students in the areas of entrepreneurship and education and these "changemakers" support primary school children in implementing their first own entrepreneurship project, i.e. in putting their own ideas into practice. The school workshops cover topics such as: How do I find a good idea? What is my market and who are my customers? How can I operate sustainably? The final highlight is the "market day", when the children sell their own creations at their own stall.
The feedback from teachers and parents shows us that we have succeeded in making an impact on children with our initiative. More than 1,000 children have already been introduced to the program.
The children sell their products on market day.
Why do we start with primary school children?
We want to raise early awareness and interest in entrepreneurial thinking and action as a basic skill for the children's future life.
Entrepreneurs play an important role in our society. At the market day, children have their first entrepreneurial experience of success with the support of students. They get to know a new perspective and learn that they can create value in society with their ideas and actions.
The elementary school children on Market Day at WU Vienna in June 2019.
Why entrepreneurship?
The world needs entrepreneurs. In today's economy and professional world, active participation and creativity are required. Our fast-paced, highly networked and constantly changing society faces many complex challenges and offers many opportunities. In the future, we will therefore need special skills to help shape and create value.
Whether as an employee, manager, founder, freelancer, project initiator or private individual, we can all become active as entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs dare to develop new ideas, see challenges as opportunities and implement innovative solutions.
Changemaker Program
every student…
every primary school child…
every teacher…
…an entrepreneur!
A group of children with the students at the market day in summer 2020.
The Changemaker Program goes Austria!
Students now teach entrepreneurial thinking and action to primary school children in four states! Conceived and launched in Vienna at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, WU Gründungszentrum in cooperation with IFTE and KPH Krems, the program now enjoys new strong partners who are taking the initiative beyond the borders of the federal capital:
FH Upper Austria, Startup Center Campus Steyr
FH Vorarlberg, startupstube
University of Graz, Center for Entrepreneurship
Students accompany primary school pupils on their entrepreneurial journey from brainstorming to developing a prototype and the final sale on market day. Under their guidance, the children are taught valuable entrepreneurial thinking and action in school workshops. They gain initial experience in division of labor, teamwork and project management and work on the following topics:
What is a market?
Idea generation and selection
Prototyping
Market stall design
Costs and revenues
Sales talks
On market day, the children are also supported in selling the products and services they have made themselves and can thus celebrate their first successes as entrepreneurs.
More than 1,000 primary school children and 170 students have already completed the Changemaker Program!
And the journey goes even further: Thanks to the Startup Center, FH Upper Austria Campus Steyr, the startupstube, FH Vorarlberg and the Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Graz, the universities are coming a big step closer to the Changeamker vision of "bringing every elementary school child in Austria into contact with entrepreneurship"!
