Yunus Urges the Youth of Malaysia to Create a World of Three Zeros

November 29, 2022  Yunus Centre
Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus was in Malaysia for four days, from November 25 to receive Honorary Doctorate in Economic Sciences at the University Putra Malaysia (UPM) at its 46th Convocation ceremony.  UPM is an old university with second highest ranking among all Universities in the country.
The ceremony was presided over by the Ruler of Selangor State, who is also Chancellor of the university. Later Yunus attended a dinner hosted by the Chief minister of Selangor. Dato Seri Haji Amiruddin Shari. Chief minister was very interested to create a Grameen Bank replica – a bank for the poor, in his state. He requested Professor Yunus’s advice in doing so.
Professor Yunus gave a public lecture organised by UPM to present his idea of creating a world of three zeros— zero global warming, zero wealth concentration, and zero unemployment.
Professor Yunus, in a public ceremony, launched the Yunus Social Business Centre at UPM. Decision of its creation which announced in 2019 when Professor Yunus visited UPM.
On November 26 Professor Yunus went to Alor Setar of Kedah state to preside over the convocation ceremony of Albukhari International University (AIU). He is the Chancellor of the university. This was the second convocation ceremony of the AIU.
AIU is a non-profit private university, uniquely defined by its core area which is Social Business. Around this core area, it built its philosophy, vision and mission and core values so that each young person who graduates from this university  becomes  an agent of change in society to devote himself and herself to create a world of three zeros.
AIU presently has about 1000 students from 52 countries of Europe, Asia, including Malaysia, the Middle East and Africa. Ninty percent of students are foreign students. All students are supported by scholarships from Albukhari Foundation. AIU recruits economically disadvantaged but talented young people around the world to  get high quality education from AIU.
In his convocation speech Professor Yunus highlighted the unique feature of the university which commits itself to creating a world of three zeros.
AIU had set up a Yunus Social Business Centre from the beginning of the University. It is now in the process of establishing a Yunus Masters Degree in Social Business and Entrepreneurship jointly with Asian Institute of Technology based in Bangkok. A delegation from Bangkok came to work out the details of the Yunus Masters programme while professor Yunus was visiting the campus.
On the final day Yunus came back to KL to address the board of the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate (MGTC), an agency of the Ministry of Environment and Water, government of Malaysia. MGTC is mandated to drive the country in the scope of green growth, climate change mitigation and promote green life style. They are creating social businesses in collaboration with young entrepreneurs.
MGTC organised a series of meetings, in collaboration with My Harapan, a youth organisation  promoting social business in Malaysia since 2013. Leaders  of many organisations came from far corners of the country to discuss various conceptual and operational issues with professor Yunus during the entire day.
Yunus met a high ranking delegation from Chief Minister of Selangor’s office before his departure for Dhaka to give his  advice on various on-going projects initiated by the Chief minister.