| Professor Yunus Awarded a Global Award at The Third China Poverty Eradication Awards |
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Professor Yunus Awarded a Global Award at The Third China Poverty Eradication Awards
 On the occasion of The International Day for Eradication of Poverty (17th October, 2010), Professor Yunus has been awarded with the Global Award at "The Third China Poverty Eradication Awards" series at a high level ceremony at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Professor Yunus has been honoured with this award for his work in fighting poverty in Bangladesh, China and elsewhere around the world.
Ms. Lamiya Morshed, Executive Director of Yunus Centre, traveled to Beijing to receive the award on behalf of Professor Yunus. She received the award from the Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Mr. Hui Liangyu.
This award is a great acknowledgement of the change brought about by Micro-Credit as pioneered by Professor Yunus. Micro-Credit has proved that the poor are bankable and this has brought about tremendous social change and has opened doors for poverty alleviation which were previously closed.
Later at a seminar, Ms. Morshed recounted how Professor Yunus had to struggle in the initial years to convince banks to provide loans to the poor. Not succeeding in this endeavor, Professor Yunus decided to start a bank just for the poor and it was named Grameen Bank (Grameen means village in the Bangla language). Today Grameen Bank has over 8.3 million borrowers of which 97% are women.
This award was established in 2004 to recognize and honour individuals and organizations which make exceptional contribution to poverty alleviation in China and is organized by the influential China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) and supported by the State Council Leading Group on Poverty Alleviation (LGOP). The ceremony was attended by over 250 people; amongst the noted persons who attended the ceremony were Michelle Bachelet, the former President of Chile and currently UN Under Secretary General and Head of UN Women, Martin Ravaillon, who is a food economist, Dr Sabine Alkire of Oxford University and Sir Fazle Abed, Chairman of BRAC and Vice Minister Fan, who had previously visited Bangladesh. |
