The Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) is conducting a Business Labs Workshop in Nassau, Bahamas from June 15th to June 19th 2009. The workshop is the third phase of the Business Labs Program: the Creation of a Business Resource Center.

The Business Labs methodology teaches practical business skills through "hands-on" experience to encourage the creation and sustainability of new businesses. The program was created by the YABT in cooperation with the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center of Haifa, Israel. The workshop in the Bahamas was coordinated with the support of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

The workshop will take place at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture on Thompson Boulevard. Approximately 30 Bahamians will be trained, including teachers and other education professionals and technical staff from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

The workshop will focus on the creation of a Business Resource Center, a one-stop location for anyone seeking help with business initiatives, either already in progress or proposed. The Center will provide assistance to individuals and small businesses by providing a wide variety of information and guidance, offering counseling, training and technical assistance in all aspects of small business management. Cooperative efforts from the private sector, the educational community, and national and local governments make this program a reality and help to enhance economic development through its provisions.

The Business Labs Workshop will be facilitated by Mr. Guillermo Levinton and Mrs. Ofra Bar Am of the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center in Haifa, Israel

The Young Americas Business Trust is a nonprofit international organization that works in cooperation with Organization of the American States (OAS) to promote the development of young entrepreneurs through its programs and projects in the areas of Leadership and Networking, Training, Technology and Strategic Alliances. The General Secretariat of the OAS has worked for many years in the development of youth entrepreneurship as a strategy proposed to national governments to overcome poverty and unemployment.

The Business Labs program, funded by the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI) at the OAS, is a component of the Nex Links project to provide follow up services to young entrepreneurs in the OAS Member States.

For further information please contact: Brett Lashley at (202) 458-3107 or blashley@oas.org.