That is what the organizers of GEW want to change.

Plans for a global celebration to inspire young entrepreneurs were announced by the Kauffman Foundation and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2007. According to GEW President Jonathan Ortmans, it started with a simple question: “What if all the organizations dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship joined forces for one week each year?” The first GEW event kicked off in November 2008 in with events, activities and competitions designed to inspire, connect, mentor and engage young entrepreneurs taking place in 77 countries.

Ortmans says he was surprised that the momentum built so quickly. GEW now has 24,000 partners that are conducting 40,000 activities. It has received support from world leaders on each continent and celebrity entrepreneurs such as Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and Dell, Inc. founder Michael Dell.

This week, all across the world, thousands of founder teams are coming together for the first time and working feverishly toward the launch of a new startup. Meanwhile, researchers and policymakers are gathering at hundreds of events around the world to examine the underlying policies necessary to promote entrepreneurial growth.

Entrepreneurship has been at the core of the American economy for decades — a key ingredient of the American Dream. This ethos is now spreading around the world quickly. That’s because entrepreneurs everywhere have access to the sea of knowledge online, and the cost of technologies such as computers, software, and sensors have dropped exponentially. Anyone anywhere can now start a company that positively impacts their local communities and perhaps the world. This has allowed young go-getters all over the world to become entrepreneurs. They are not waiting for governments to remove barriers or to give them grants—they are taking the leap on their own. Then they are doing what entrepreneurs do best—overcoming obstacles.