Yunus urges to tear down wall of poverty at the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Yunus Centre Press release (11 November, 2014):
Celebrations marking 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall have concluded with the release of thousands of glowing white balloons into the night sky, fireworks and songs. Some 2 million people gathered in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate for the finale of weekend events marking a quarter of a century since the Fall of the Wall.
Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus was one of the special guests who joined the German President Joachim Gauck, President Mikhail Gorbachev, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit on stage in front of Brandenburg Gate at 7 pm during the official celebration on November 9 to release the white balloons that marked the starting signal for the release of nine thousand balloons of the light installation along what used to be the Berlin Wall. Others on stage included Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa and Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales.
The display followed three days of emotional ceremonies during which crowds of Berliners and visitors remembered November 9, 1989, the day the wall that divided Cold War Europe was breached.
Professor Yunus said “Today barriers still separate communities around the world but the fall of the Berlin wall provides light of hope people around the world. This occasion is about imagining what other walls need to come down in the world. We must vow to knock down the divides that exists between the wealthy developed countries and the poorer developing countries.” he added. “The Fall of the Berlin Wall showed us that deep chasm can be bridged in a peaceful process no matter how deep the division might seem to be. It was the reflection of the will of mass people, now we must work to uphold people’s will to fully realize the spirit this occasion.”
Earlier in the evening, Professor Yunus and other dignitaries were received at an exclusive reception with Chancellor Angela Markel at Gendarmenmarkt Hall
Professor Yunus was also given a tour along the line defined by 9,000 lighted up balloons by the leaders of the uprising in East Germany which led to the Fall of the Wall.
The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 during the Cold War and separated East and West Berlin. The Wall was "a symbol of the ideological division of Europe and the whole world. The Berlin Wall was the defining symbol of the Cold War, separating families and people from both sides of the Germany.”
Photo Caption: Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus was among the special guests to join President Joachim Gauck of Germany, Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Nobel Laureate Lech Wałęsa, the President of European Parliament Martin Schulz and Mayor Klaus Wowereit Of Berlin on stage in front of the famous Brandenburg Gate during the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Fall of Wall in Berlin on November 9. They launched the release of white balloons across a 75 miles long path where Berlin wall stood dividing East and West Berlin until Nov 9, 1989. More than 9,000 balloons formed a light installation along line in Berlin where the wall once stood.
Source: Yunus Centre
Updated Date: 5th January, 2017