Will Chicago Keep Up With Shanghai?

A century ago, Chicago was the fastest-growing city in the history of the world. Today, Shanghai is the fastest-growing city in history.

While Chicago's gross regional product, percentage of college graduates and per capita income are still many times higher than those of Shanghai, there is a real question about whether we will be able to keep up with our Chinese “twin” in the 21st century.

When former President Jiang Zemin visited Chicago a couple years ago, he said he didn't recognize the city because it had changed so much since his previous visit as Mayor of Shanghai in the late 1980s -- just before Shanghai began its dramatic transformation.

The hugely successful April 5, 2005 visit of Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng and a large delegation of leading Shanghainese, participating in the second round of the Chicago-Shanghai Dialogue, showed the Chinese desire to go into the future hand-in-hand with us.

But this is a matter of some urgency, as Mayor Richard M. Daley showed at Walter Payton College Prep, when he made clear to Mayor Han Chicago's intention to expand its public schools' leadership in developing America's largest Chinese-language program -- currently teaching Mandarin to more than 5,000 children from kindergarten through high school . Mayor Han said he would help.

At a large VIP lunch for Mayor Han in the Fairmont Hotel sponsored by Innovene — the $13-billion BP spinoff which just opened its global headquarters in Chicago and its Asia headquarters in Shanghai — Mayor Daley told Mayor Han that combined United and American Airlines nonstop service to China makes O’Hare our nation’s leading air connection to the business centers of the People’s Republic.

The exchange of visits by the Mayors of Shanghai and Chicago — Mayor Daley led a business delegation there last October — was to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Sister City relations.

Business, civic and academic counterparts explored areas of collaboration between the two cities during the daylong Shanghai-Chicago Dialogue, convened jointly by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations and the Shanghai Institute for Strategic Studies. The conclusion of the second round of this frank and direct Dialogue was that the two cities need to move from talking to specific action-focused agendas.

During the Dialogue’s afternoon sessions, Mayor Han toured Millennium Park with Tom Pritzker, Bill Wrigley and Steve Crown. The mayor of a city that has invested many, many billions in modern transportation systems discovered a new technology in Millennium Park.

Chicago Police were providing discreet coverage of the park tour, mounted on two-wheeled Segways. Mayor Han had never seen such a personal transportation device, and he had the nerve and athletic prowess to go for a ride himself.

Mayor Han went home knowing that Chicago remains on the cutting edge. Mayor Daley and future-minded Chicagoans know we’ve got real work to do if we are going to partner with fast-moving Shanghai.

“Nothing like us ever was,” Carl Sandburg said of Chicago. And that was true until Shanghai came along.

--Paul O'Connor

Chicago High Schoolers Put Entrepreneurship Skills To Work

A little over a year ago, Robert Woods, a junior at the Chicago Vocational Career Academy (CVCA), begged his business teacher, Ms. Georgia Blockmon, to allow him to withdraw from her business course so he could enroll in a carpentry class with a friend. Ms. Blockmon refused and instead, introduced him to the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE, pronounced "nifty").

Since participating in the NFTE program at CVCA, Robert has gone from a high school student with mediocre grades and few higher education goals to CEO and cofounder of a CD design and label manufacturing company serving young artists trying to break into the music business; an engaged student with significantly improved grades and attendance; a participant in the 2004 NFTE Citywide Youth Business Plan Competition; winner of over $2,000 in venture funding for his business; aspirations to go onto college; and most recently, winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award where he will be honored at NFTE's Annual Dinner in New York City.

Robert, described by many that meet him, as a "serial entrepreneur," laughs as he recalls life before entrepreneurship, "I couldn't imagine where I would be if Ms. Blockmon allowed me to drop business; I may never have discovered my real talent."

Ms. Blockmon is one of 30 NFTE Certified Entrepreneurship teachers in Chicago since the opening of the most recent Chicago program office in May 2003. The organization founded in 1987 by former New York City public school teacher Steve Mariotti originally began as a dropout prevention and academic performance improvement program for students who were at risk of failing or quitting school. Today, NFTE has grown into a comprehensive business education program in 45 states and 13 countries with more than 100,000 graduates.

NFTE's model is unique in that it creates award winning text and Internet-based curriculum; partners with schools and community based organizations; trains and certifies educators through three- and five-day trainings hosted at academic partner campuses (Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University being Chicago's partner); and then supports teachers as they implement the program into their classes.

NFTE's largely experiential program teaches students the essential business and entrepreneurship skills they need to start their own small business, while reinforcing basic reading, writing, and math skills. The culminating experience for every NFTE student is the creation of a rigorous business plan that includes life goal setting, a community philanthropy plan and an 18-page business analysis.

One of many Kellogg MBA students who have become involved as NFTE business plan mentors best described the program as an "incredible, comprehensive, mini-MBA program for high school students."

NFTE Chicago has reached over 1,800 students to date, largely due to the formation of a successful partnership with Chicago Public Schools. NFTE was adopted as the lead curriculum for the business track of all Education to Career (ETC) programs within CPS. NFTE is currently working to expand the program into all ETC, such as painting, automotive and cosmetology. The goal is to provide students with the skills to give them the option of creating their own business rather than being a lifelong employee.

NFTE founder Steve Mariotti says, "Many neighborhoods are filled with talented children who just need help finding their talents. NFTE's goal is to give young people the skills and confidence to unlock their true potential, so they can improve their lives and their communities."

NFTE Chicago's work is made possible by the generous support of Ariel Mutual Funds, the Coleman Foundation, Bank One, Morgan Stanley Foundation, NASDQ Foundation, Polk Bros Foundation, Ford Motor Company, Pampered Chef founder Jay Christopher, Clint Coghill of Coghill Capital Management and Goldman, Sachs & Co.

While NFTE understands that every student will not create their own business and be an entrepreneur, their goal is to keep students engaged in school; support them in their growing college aspirations; make them better consumers, employees and employers; teach them the concept of ownership; and give them the skills to enter into the marketplace.

To learn more about NFTE Chicago or to make a contribution, please contact Christine Poorman, at 773-832-0645 or chrisp@nfte.com or visit www.nfte.com

"Get Connected In Chicago" Ad Campaign Returns For Year Two

Mayor Richard M. Daley's request to repeat and expand the successful "Get Connected in Chicago" advertising campaign has resulted in new creative executions unveiled this month at O'Hare International Airport. The campaign has also expanded to include Midway International Airport for the first time.

Chicago by the Numbers

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