Citizens for Social Business has been created the 28th of june 2011 in Dhaka, during the World Social Business Day. Its Founder and International Coordinator, Vincent Perrier-Trudov, has been charged by Pr. Yunus to lead the development of that association all around the world.
They asked me to be the coordinator for Italy, togheter with Samantha Caccamo, and I have accepted with pleasure.
Thanks to Prof. Yunus and Vincent for this opportunity.
The purpose of that association is to promote the concept of Social Business, and to push for its growth.
Two concrete requests are posed:
- to create in every country a legal status for social entreprises who want to be established as social businesses
- to reserve 5% of the international aid for development to social businesses projects
A Social Business Friendly Corporation Club will be created, which will gather all private companies that will dedicate 5% of their advertising/PR/branding budgets to Social Business projects, as a part of their CSR policy.
Every good will is accepted, everyone can do his part, even if it's not much! You are all most welcomed!
I've had the pleasure to interview Holly Mosher, an award winning filmmaker who brings socially conscious films to the public. She is the maker of the documentary film Bonsai Movie
When you first heard of Prof. Yunus?
I first heard about Prof. Yunus when it was announced that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Bonsai Movie Trailer
What is the movie about?
Bonsai is a documentary that follows not only his microcredit but also his work with social business.
The film start with me following a new bank branch being set up, so that I can follow new borrowers getting their very first loans, as well as seeing what it took for Muhammad Yunus to start this work over 30 years ago.
It was exciting to see first-hand how their lives change over the course of a year.
I also weave in and out of his companies. When one of the borrowers, Shahnaj, mentions how she lost her son to tetanus after he stepped on a chicken bone in the field after the storms, that’s when the film flows into telling why he opened a healthcare company. You understand the link between poverty and illness and the deep impact on people’s lives.
Additionally, I also follow two women in the struggling member (beggar member program) as well as Aroti, a successful borrower, who has been with Grameen for over 15 years and now sits on her local village council.
The film has a deep underlying message of women’s empowerment and how microcredit is an important tool.
The film also shows Yunus’ trajectory into other fields and you can see what he saw – that just as these people lacked access to financial services, they also lacked access to other things we take for granted from electricity to cell phones. All of these things that we take for granted are also really appreciated and as useful for the poor.
The film will also leave the viewer feeling as if they themselves have taken a trip to Bangladesh.
Why the name is Bonsai?
When I heard his analogy of how poor people are bonsai people, I was deeply moved. His analogy goes like this: if you take the seed of the tallest tree in the forest, a beautiful tree, and you plant it in a flower pot it won’t grow as tall, a bonsai tree. The same is for people, everyone has the full capacity, but their roots have been potted.
Why you decided to make this movie?
After reading the article on his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, I immediately knew that I just had to go and make a film about his work. It mentioned that he was helping 6.5 Million women at the time, and we have 6.5 Billion people on earth, so I quickly did the math and realized he was literally helping 1 out of every 1,000 people on earth – and with just his bank. The funny thing was when I mentioned this to him, he ever so humbly pointed out that each of his women actually represents a family of five. So needless to say, his work is directly helping 1 out of every 200 people on earth. And now they are at 8.5 Million borrowers.
And again, this is only counting his work with microfinance. His other companies are doing so much for people.
What were the most interesting things you learned?
The most exciting thing to see was the simple ways this work affected people’s lives. I saw the women gaining confidence and their voice. I saw them being proud of their capacity to make money. I saw that one thing several women said was that they simply learned to keep their homes cleaner, which of course helps with sanitation and health. And I saw that they got toilets.
Additionally I was impressed to see that he is really doing his best to tackle poverty from all angles. As a professor, he looks for the root cause of problems and tries to teach people ways to solve their problems in a way that is self-sustaining.
Thanks Holly for your time!
To know more about the movie: web site and Twitter.
The Yunus Social Business Centre of the University of Florence (YSBCUF) is a parternship between the University of Florence and the Yunus Centre.
Its goal is to provide students, entrepreneurs and citizens with the opportunity to learn about Professor Yunus’ theories by creating social businesses and by supporting research and publications on social business and its effect on economic and local development. In addition, it will establish and promote social businesses both throughout Italy and in other countries.
The Yunus Centre’s role will be to hold an advisory position, monitoring and coordinating projects carried out at the YSBCUF.
It is expected to start in the beginning of May and expects to begin holding workshops this year and social business classes by next year.
The YSBCUF has already begun discussions with potential investors who have expressed a great interest in financing a social business fund.
Congrats to Enrico Testi; I know him personally, we met and the Grameen Global Social Business Summit 2010, and I'll see with him how we can work together.
Read more here.
Part of the Global Support Yunus Week!, I'm organizing a meet-up in front of the Bangladesh Embassy in Rome. Others meet-up in front of BD embassy planned in Paris, Berlin, HK, Porto, L.A.
More info on Meet-up.
Come with me, we have to help Prof. Yunus. The government of Bangladesh has fired him from the Grameen Bank that he founded and for which he won the Nobel Prize (it is like if the Pope was fired from the Vatican...).
More details in the next days.
Twitter hashtag: #SupportYunus
Download the Yunus mask.
Updated 9th March 2011
Letter to Friends and supporters from FOG
Creation of Friends of Grameen and International response to attacks against Grameen Bank and removal of Professor Yunus from the Grameen Bank
Dear Friends and Supporters of Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank
You will have no doubt heard or read about the alarming events which have unfolded over the last days. This reached a climax yesterday when the High Court of Bangladesh upheld the Central Bank’s decision to remove Professor Yunus from his post as Managing Director of the Grameen Bank, which he founded over three decades ago. Professor Yunus’ lawyers have announced that they shall now appeal to the Supreme Court, as the High Court decision is blatantly politically oriented and without legal grounds. However, Professor Yunus will remain in post during the proceedings; a hearing is expected to be held on 15th March.
In order to provide ongoing support to Professor Yunus and the Grameen bank, at a time when the Government of Bangladesh is seeking to take over the Grameen Bank for political purposes, an organization named “Friends of Grameen” was launched earlier this month, comprising NGO’s, international figures, and companies, some of which have social business joint ventures with Grameen such as Danone, Veolia, and Credit Agricole.
We have launched a website: please come and visit and encourage others to do so as well!
We have received overwhelming encouragement and support, and many of you have contacted us asking what you can do to help. There is now a pressing need for global action! As a first step, we would like to suggest the following targeted actions:
Contacting key actors
- Bangladesh Embassies in your country :Reiterating the fact that the decision is unlawful, and that this is a dangerous turning point for the Grameen Bank
- Bangladeshi expat community: This is a key group to mobilize in your country, and raise awareness of the current situation.
Conveying your message
- In the local/ national / specialist press : via op-eds and opinion papers
- On blogs and websites
Social media
- Join our Facebook Page: Support Professor Yunus
- Encourage people to retweet #SupportYunus
Petitions
- A number of petitions have been circulating, but we would recommend the following:
o Open Letter to the President of the United States
o Petition to Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh
The current events have overwhelming public outrage in Bangladesh over the week-end, as a Government takeover of the Bank would effectively result in the 8.35 million borrower owners (and their families) of the Grameen Bank to be disowned. Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of BRAC,the second largest microfinance organization in Bangladesh, has also voiced its backing of the Grameen Bank.
Hundreds of demonstrations took place in villages in support of Grameen Bank and Yunus, and NGOs, academics, and various figures have spoken out against the unlawful treatment of Professor Yunus. A "Citizen committee" was also formed as a testimony to Professor Yunus and his legacy to Bangladesh, and a “human chain” of NGOs, Grameen borrowers and supporters has been planned from the Southern border to the Northern tip of the country next Friday. In addition, a number of initiatives led by academics both in Bangladesh and abroad, and female activists have emerged over the last couple of days.
This news has of course received tremendous media attention over the last week, and it is very encouraging to see that most international media as well as some sections of the Bangladeshi media have sought to tell the story of the ongoing, brutal destabilization campaign which has been relentlessly pursued over the last months against Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank. The Nobel Committee reiterated its support of the Grameen Bank and its founder, who were jointly awarded the prize in 2006, whilst other.
Within the international political sphere, alarm has been raised in the press by both Hilary Clinton and John Kerry, who have expressed their concern over the treatment of Professor Yunus. In Bangladesh, the alarm has been raised not only by the opposition parties but also by the Awami League party, and voices are now challenging the legitimacy, legality and the political cost of the attempt to sack the Peace Nobel Prize winner founder of Grameen Bank. We greatly appreciate your involvement and your help! Please keep us informed on your various actions, and of course, do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information: contact@friendsofgrameen.com
Thanks again! Best Wishes
Friends of Grameen
The honorary committee is Chaired by Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and comprises members such as Jagdish Sharan Verma, former Chief Justice of India and former Chair of the National Human Rights Commission of India, and James D. Wolfensohn, former President of World Bank, Chairman and CEO Wolfensohn Fund Management, L.P, and Michel Camdessus, former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
The executive Committee is chaired by Maria Nowak, President of ADIE, a pioneering French microfinance institution created in 1989. Kerry Kennedy human rights activist, President of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation of Europe and Chair of the Amnesty International Leadership Council (USA) and President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights has joined as one of the Vice Presidents of its Executive Committee. The full list of members is included as an appendix.
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