Arrived in France for the World Entrepreneurship Forum where there are already fabulous exchanges between members of so many different backgrounds.

Enjoying the experience immensely. Follow my Tweets @Laurel Delaney or twitter.com/LaurelDelaney.

Photo credit: Pierto, Sipa Press (Laurel Delaney center)

“Give a man a horse he can ride, give a man a boat he can sail; and his rank and wealth, his strength and health on sea nor shore shall fail.” ~ James Thomson

Have a magnificent weekend. Hope it's smooth sailing wherever you are. The photo above was taken in Evian, France, November, 2008.

Photo credit: Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

An exhibition coordinated by the Reunion des Musees Nationaux in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Museum and sponsored by LVMH / Moët Hennessy / Louis Vuitton (Paris).

Despite the economic crisis, international education remains strong. At EM Lyon Business School (home of the World Entrepreneurship Forum that I attended last month) in France where they claim to educate entrepreneurs for the world, dean Patrice Houdayer, says:

... the school's global and entrepreneurial focus will help grads of one of Europe's oldest business schools succeed, even in a tough economy.

Houdayer's prediction for growth areas?

Students who will go from the (U.S.) and Europe to Asia and Africa. I think Asia, Africa and South America will be a target for the next generation to take their second or third job because the growth is there.

Read more here:

While in France, I had the pleasure of discovering the much-talked-about Laduree macaroon but did not have an opportunity to taste one. Do you know of it? It is considered the best-of-the-best of macaroon cookies.

These small, round cakes, crisp on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle, are made every morning in Ladurée’s "laboratory." With each new season, Ladurée pays tribute to this its most famous creation by creating a new flavour (pictured is the flavor for autumn --Macaroon Mangue Jasmine).

I am happy to advise that Laduree has a website but for the life of me, I cannot figure out if they ship "fresh to U.S." Can anyone help me out?

Check out Laduree here (but turn your computer's volume down first!) and explore their product offerings here.

You will understand why I crave a Laduree macaroon.

After participating in The World Entrepreneurship Forum from November 13-15th in Evian, France, founded by EMLYON Business School (EMLYON Business School English), the leading European business school in Entrepreneurship, and KPMG FR (KPMG USA arm), the leading tax, audit and advisory services company, and global leader in entrepreneurship education Babson College (Boston, USA) who just joined the two founding partners in the organization of the event -- I have come to realize and totally be in awe that global entrepreneurship is very much alive and more at work than ever. Further, we have far more similarities than differences in our passion for building businesses regardless of whether one lives in U.S.A, Indonesia or The Republic of Cameroon (bordered by Nigeria).

Passion -- not necessarily profit (for example, if you love what you do, the money (profits) will follow at some point ... nearly everyone felt that way ... but you cannot sustain the growth of your business, especially during rough patches, without passion first) -- is the key to successful global entrepreneurial development and it ran deep (soulfully might be a better choice of words) within each of the 80 selected personalities representing 35 nationalities and segmented into four distinct profiles who each have an entrepreneurial role in society: entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, politicians, and experts. I was placed in the Entrepreneur category under The Free Market Economy (one of three ethos*). The picture above shows all members and was taken on the grounds of the Evian Royal Resort overlooking Lake Geneva and facing the Alps.

Here's a look at the agenda we covered for the two and one-half days but before I share that, here's the definition of entrepreneur according to the World Entrepreneurship Forum:

"The entrepreneur, creator of wealth and social justice."

Does that sound like you? If so, let us hear from you! And two questions that arose from that statement:

1. What is the best way of creating wealth?
2. What is the best way of creating social justice?

And here's a glimpse at the founder's vision:

"The future depends on entrepreneurs. They play a pivotal role when confronting the business and societal challenges we face today and in the future. Creators of value, promotors of values, they will actively contribute to the advancement of global social justice." ~ EMLYON Business School - KPMG, Founders of the World Entrepreneurship Forum

Now, to the agenda.

Day One

• The Entrepreneur, a key actor in the face of our world challenges.
• The many faces of the entrepreneur: introduction to the three ethos* (coordinated market economy, free market economy and the network-based economy) influencing entrepreneurs' behaviors.
• Topics, methodology and expected outcomes of the Forum.
• Key success factors for entrepreneurs across the three ethos (in other words, the character or ideals of a community of people).

Day Two

Morning

• Breakfasts segmented by Profiles (Entrepreneurs, Social Entrepreneurs, Experts and Politicians): Sharing and exchanging challenges and issues each profile faces in their respective business environment.

Early afternoon

The overall encompassing purpose was to formulate recommendations, develop content and format of future entrepreneurship education programs and issue proposals to have entrepreneurs behave fairly toward society

• Creating entrepreneurship-friendly business environments.
• Educating the next generation of entrepreneurs.
• Advancing the social commitment of entrepreneurs.

Late afternoon

• Facilitated discussion on the above three bullets.

Late evening

• Gathering to articulate the vision, mission and goals of the World Entrepreneurship Forum; liberation of the first conclusions drawn from the World Entrepreneurship Forum; and, announcement of the "Entrepreneur for the World" award (will tell you who won later).

Day Three (1/2 day)

• Feedback from the workshops and discussed conclusions from the previous two days of learning and sharing. Then we brainstormed about the Forum's impact and future (which included collectively formulating twelve recommendations to promote entrepreneurship worldwide) and went on to vote for "Entrepreneur for the World" 2009 award.

*More detail about this in a subsequent post.

I will report takeaways and highlight some of the members I met (a few are readers of our blog!) over the coming weeks for my notes are a mile long. Right now, I wanted to merely set the stage for what is yet to come. In between now and then, catch a different perspective on the Forum from two great media moguls Steven Strauss and Rieva Lesonsky who both participated at the conference. And catch Karen Kerrigan's report here.

More global entrepreneurial magic to follow. Stay tuned.

I plan to report on the World Entrepreneurship Forum (see all the coverage already up on it ... pictures ... videos) in a blog post either Sunday or Monday. Still in France and have been overwhelmed by the amount of collective genius shared by all the participants at the Forum but there has been absolutely no time to blog.

Much to write about but need substantial quality time to produce it. Look forward to providing my perspective on the Forum shortly.

Preparing to attend the World Entrepreneurship Forum in Evian France from November 13-15. Read more about it here.

Blogging will be sporadic but I will do my best to report out. Eager to learn and share the different views of the world on global entrepreneurship and how it has become an economic and social force.

I am honored to have been chosen to participate in the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2008 (world-entrepreneurship-forum.com/) under the high patronage of Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France and to be held in Evian, France from November 13-15.

The World Entrepreneurship Forum is the first worldwide think-tank dedicated to entrepreneurship and its role in society. With what's going on in the world, we need this more than ever right now!

The forum brings together more than 70 participants of the highest level: entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, political decision-makers and international experts.

Central theme: "Entrepreneurship as a creator of economic wealth and social justice," resulting in the definition of concrete recommendations in response to three questions: