Professor Yunus: Life is to be creative until the last day
Yunus Centre Press Release(8 January 2017):
At the joint 90th Aniversary Symposium of Andhra University in Visakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh , and 10th Anniversary of his Nobel Peace Prize celebrated by this university, Professor Yunus spoke on how to create a social business in a creative way to solve any social problem. In his speech he took the problem of old age and emphasised ( the fact) that it is not a question of looking after the old people, but rather to facilitate them to be creative and work on the things they love to do for the benefit of others. According to Professor Yunus one should retire the very word 'retirement'. Any person, young or old, can be an entrepreneur at any time of his or life. Instead of calling it by the psychologically damaging word 'retirement' he said a preferable way to call it is 'Phase Two' of life. After the first phase of life one can begin a second phase any time he or she likes investing one's life's aquirements (what is this word? )for the good of the society. He said that the young can do that too by taking up the option of creating jobs rather than seeking jobs.
He further stated that our financial system today is busy financing those businesses which are generating personal profits, and that it was high time for it to finance(s) the social business start-ups (, he argued). Already initiatives have been taken up for this in various parts of the world. Professor Yunus mentioned two specific cases of social business funds in India created in Bangalore and Mumbai through individualinitiative. It is this wide participation of young social entrepreneurs that can stop and reverse the dangerous trend of concentration of wealth.
Professor Yunus emphasized again that everybody is an entrepreneur and the finance should not be a problem for anyone's endeavour. He explained one by one how his three zeros -- zero poverty, zero unemployment , and zero carbon, which are the themes of this symposium can soon be realised by combined efforts especially through the entrepreneurship of millions of youth.
Professor Yunus was given a reception in the afternoon by the Andhra University Centre for SAARC Research. He spoke on the occasion about the need for revitalizing SAARC and hoped that the research (es) conducted by the scholars of the centre will be a great help in creating the synergies that will enable SAARC to realise its unifying goals.
A meeting was held between Professor Yunus and Professor Nageshwar Rao , the Vice Chancellor of Andhra University during which (some) details of the Yunus Centre for Social Business to be created in the university was discussed. Prof.Yunus suggested that apart from the research(es) that will take place here, it should undertake practical initiatives to act as an incubator to start-up social businesses. Professor Rao agreed with these proposals and informed about the plans for the Centre.
Source: Yunus Centre
Updated Date: 22nd January, 2017