Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi “banker to the poor” who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, yesterday encouraged young Taiwanese to dream up better worlds and take small steps to make them a reality.
With the power of technology in their hands, today’s younger generations are the most powerful in human history and capable of creating the world they want, the 73-year-old said at a forum in Taipei organized by the Chinese Association for Corporate Transformation, Innovation and Advancement.
Yunus encouraged Taiwanese youth to make use of that advantage and tackle global problems, such as poverty and unemployment.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Being able to “fictionalize” or using one’s imagination is critically important, Yunus said, as he urged young people to write more “social fiction” that imagines societies devoid of the problems plaguing their current counterparts.
“If you imagine it, reality will follow,” he said at the forum, which was held at the Taipei International Convention Center.
The Grameen Bank founder also encouraged young people to change the world by taking “one tiny little step,” citing the approach used by his bank as an example.
Founded in 1983, Grameen Bank provides micro-credit loans to the poor, the recipients of which are mostly women.
The Nobel laureate also expressed concern over high youth unemployment around the world and encouraged those struggling to find a job to become entrepreneurs instead of followers.
Young people should become “job-givers” instead of “jobseekers,” said Yunus, whose four-day visit to Taiwan concludes today.
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