Atlanta creates advisory council to focus on youth entrepreneurship

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’s Advisory Council will help young water vendors identify business and financial goals

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’s Advisory Council will help young water vendors identify business and financial goals

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an Administrative Order to convene an Advisory Council comprised of community members and partners to develop strategies to help promote youth entrepreneurship within the city of Atlanta, according to a press release.

“Our youth, including those who take to the streets to sell water and other goods, have shown us how productive and capable they can be as up and coming entrepreneurs,” said Mayor Bottoms. “This Advisory Council is another step in my Administration’s efforts to provide them with a path forward to succeed in pursuit of their entrepreneurial goals.”

Administrative Order 2020- directs the Chief Operating Officer to convene an Advisory Council comprised of public agencies, residents, businesses, non-profits, philanthropy, faith-based organizations, and educational institutions that will:

Recommend strategies for the development of fueling the entrepreneurial spirit of young people throughout the city;

Support the entrepreneurial goals of young water vendors in Atlanta.

The Advisory Council will convene and report their recommendations to Mayor Bottoms on July 17.

The Atlanta Youth Entrepreneurship Advisory Council is one of many programs Mayor Bottoms has supported to improve the overall well-being of the City’s youth. Last summer, Mayor Bottoms created the Atlanta Youth Engagement Initiative (AYE!)–an innovative collaboration engaging young people through employment opportunities, professional skills development, and overall health and wellness improvement in the City of Atlanta.

The Bottoms Administration continues to work with Invest Atlanta through Students to Startups, to expose Atlanta-based students (from Georgia State University, Morehouse, Spelman, Clark-Atlanta, Emory, SCAD, and Georgia Tech) to entrepreneurship and help meet the talent needs of 20 Atlanta-based startups. In addition to working with the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department (AFRD) to establish the AFRD Delayed Entry Program in local high schools.

The program serves as a youth engagement platform and recruitment tool for AFRD. Participants from 10th through 12th grade gain career exposure in firefighting and emergency services, preparedness training, mentoring and leadership development.

Information: atlantaga.gov