Bartle Hall Becomes Entrepreneurial Marketplace for Kids; First Grand International Exchange Day Brings 2,000 Young Entrepreneurs to KC.

Business Editors/Education Writers

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 8, 2003

Creativity and entrepreneurship will be the business of the day on July 9, when 2,000 children involved in 48 Mini-Society programs in Missouri and Kansas gather for the first time to take part in a Grand Mini-Society International Exchange Day at Kansas City's Bartle Hall.

Mini-Society is an experienced-based instructional system for teaching hands-on entrepreneurship, economics and citizenship concepts to students ages eight to twelve. In the Mini-Society program, children create a self-organizing economic society from the ground up: they name it, create a flag, develop currency, form a government and start their own businesses.

The Grand International Exchange Day runs from 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. and is hosted by the 4-H After School Academic Program, a branch of the University of Missouri System Outreach and Extension Program. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is sponsoring Grand International Exchange Day and sponsors Mini-Society programs in Kansas and Missouri through its financial support to the 4-H After School Academic Program.

During the event, kids will raise the flags of their societies above a bounty of colorful booths from which they will sell their wares and services. Just as in the real marketplace, a wide range of goods and services will be available -- from advertising agencies and newspapers to banks and jewelry stores.

"The Kauffman Foundation believes it's important to give young people a chance to showcase their creativity and imagination through an entrepreneurial lens," said Kauffman President and CEO Carl Schramm. "As kids run their businesses within societies of their own making, they learn about entrepreneurship and good citizenship -- and have fun at the same time."

"Bringing kids together from all our Mini-Societies for a Grand International Exchange Day is a first for our area and will add another dimension to these youngsters' entrepreneurial and economic learning experience," added Neldra Moody Flint, educational training and development specialist for the 4-H After School Academic Program. "The scope of this event will give these budding entrepreneurs a better sense of what it's like to be an entrepreneur in the real world, where many different cultures and societies are interacting in a global marketplace."

The Mini-Society educational system was created by Dr. Marilyn Kourilsky in the early 1970s. Originally developed for the traditional classroom setting, it has also proven its effectiveness in summer and after-school enrichment initiatives. Through collaborative partnerships with the 4-H After School Academic Program, Mini-Society programs are under way this summer at 48 sites in Kansas and Missouri, including twelve Freedom Schools in Kansas City and St. Louis; Parks and Recreation Community Centers in Kansas City, Columbia and Warrensburg, Mo., and in Johnson County, Kan.; the YMCA of Kansas City; Guadalupe Center; Boys and Girls Clubs in Kansas City and Columbia, Mo.; and in Kid Zones in the Kansas City, Kansas public schools, to name just a few.

Members of the media are welcome to attend the Grand International Exchange Day anytime between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Wendy Guillies at 816/932-1046 or [e-mail], or Neldra Flint at 816/734-2521 or [e-mail].