Muhammad Yunus, 2006 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
Muhammad Yunus, 2006 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, will kick off the Fall 2010 IMPACT Speaker Series.
Georgia Tech’s Fall 2010 IMPACT Speaker Series will kick off on Thursday, August 26,with Professor Muhammad Yunus, 2006 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in developing the concept of microcredit and microfinance.
Yunus, who will discuss “Building Social Business,” will speak at 5 PM in LeCraw Audtiorium in Georgia Tech College of Management. Copies of his new book, Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism that Serves Humanity’s Most Pressing Needs, will be on sale starting at 4 p.m. in the atrium outside LeCraw, and Yunus will be available to sign copies after his talk.
Held by the College of Management and the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship, the weekly IMPACT series provides Georgia Tech students, alumni, and members of the Atlanta community a free opportunity to network and learn from high-tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and notable business leaders.
“As we pursue a mission of ‘doing good’ and creating a more just, caring and sustainable future, we welcome the visit of Dr. Yunus,” says Professor Terry Blum, director of the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship. “His visit will further the integration of the Georgia Tech community’s technological and business skills with our humanitarian purpose.”
Yunus, an economist and banker in Bangladesh, and the Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to “create economic and social development from below” through a delivery system to provide banking services for the rural poor.
The Grameen Bank, which began as a research project by Yunus in 1976 to explore a credit delivery service system for the rural poor, has reversed conventional banking wisdom by focusing on women borrowers, extending loans only to the very poorest borrowers, and dispensing of the requirement for collateral. Today, more than 250 institutions in nearly 100 countries operate micro-credit programs based on the Grameen Bank model.
Yunus has received national and international recognition for his work, including the Bangladesh President’s Award in 1978, Mother Teresa Award in 2006, and the Presidential Medal Of Freedom awarded by President Barak Obama in 2009. He is the author of seven books, including Banker to the Poor and A World Without Poverty.
Instrumental in establishing the Grameen Bank, Grameen America and Grameen Foundation, Yunus also serves on the board of directors of the United Nations Foundation.
NOTE: Yunus’ lecture is free and open to the public. No reservations are required, but please note that space is limited and seating is on first-come, first-served basis.
This session will be available as an archived streaming video after the presentation. For more information, visit the IMPACT Website.