Yunus Centre Press Release (18 May 2023)


Porto, May 12, 2023

Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus held an exclusive meeting with H.E. Mr Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of Portugal on occasion of the Sustainability and Society Forum held in Porto on May 12, 2023.  The forum brings together global leaders to debate ideas, mobilize energies and create policies to build a sustainable and inclusive future for all. The President of Portugal, who travelled to Porto to inaugurate and speak at the Forum expressed his wishes to have an exclusive meeting with Professor Yunus and listening to Professor Yunus' speech at the forum.

President focused his discussion with Yunus about creating a world without poverty, how economic policies can be designed to address the poverty issue. Professor Yunus emphasized on the concepts and institutions which must be changed to  make poverty disappear from the world. Present economic system which creates poverty cannot end poverty. He said, poverty is not created by the people, it is created by the economic system we built.

Professor Yunus was the keynote speaker at the Sustainability and Society Forum in Porto on Friday, May 12 addressing the topic "Targets and Policies towards a Sustainable Europe" alongside the President of Portugal. Professor Yunus talked in his speech about the need to build a new economic system with human values at the centre -  and elaborated  his vision of a world of three zeroes --- zero global warming, zero wealth concentration to end poverty, zero unemployment to unleash entrepreneurship in all. He said that the world is currently on a suicidal path fueled by our profit centred and greed based civilization. The ship of existing civilization is sinking fast, he said. We must build a ship of new civilization and jump into it to save the human existence on the planet. He emphasized that the time time is running out very fast. We don't have centuries to make this change over, we are left with only a few decades. We have to act super fast.

Professor Yunus also attended an event as chief guest organized by Sing for Hope to  create a Sing for Hope piano in collaboration with Casa di Musica Porto. Sing for Hope is a non-profit organization founded by opera singers Monica Yunus and Camille Zamora. The Sing for Hope Pianos project, one of New York City's largest public art projects, now extended to other cities around the world, brings artist-painted pianos to the parks and public spaces of the city.

During his stay, Proefssor Yunus also held meetings with Prof Frederic Fezas director of the Yunus Social Business Centre, at Católica Lisbon , the most important  Portuguese business school  which launched a centre in Professor Yunus' name last year who reported on the activities and plans of the centre.

Photo Caption: Portuguese President His Excellency Marcelo Rebelo de Souza and Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus shake hands at the "Sustainability and Society Forum" held in Porto, Portugal.