B\\\'desh can zero poverty rate

Nobel Laureate Professor Mohammed Yunus Thursday said flaws in traditional thought process have created problems like poverty and income and wealth disparity in society.
He also called upon all to set 'three zero goals' like 'zero poverty', 'zero unemployment' and 'zero net carbon emission' in the post-millennium development goal era.
To attain these goals, four mega powers like power of the youth, power of technology, power of social business and power of good governance should be utilised properly.
"We encourage the youths not to seek job rather to give job as human beings are born to contribute in the world by using their creative power. The notion of job giving and seeking has misled us, which is embedded even in the education system," said Prof Yunus.
It is wrong to advise anyone for seeking employment and the right thing is to encourage youths for becoming entrepreneurs, he said.
His comments came at the inaugural session of the 6th Social Business Day at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city.
More than 250 participants from 30 countries participated in the annual event, organised by Yunus Centre.
In his keynote speech, Prof Yunus said the population of the world has been growing faster now than it happened earlier.
Now 1.0 billion new faces are added to the global population every 12 years, which happened earlier in 20,000 years. So the traditional thought process to accommodate, feed and provide all kinds of facilities to these extra people is no more practical.
"The list of wrong paths that the traditional thought process and notions have led us is a long one. This has created poverty and income and wealth disparity in society," he said.
The concentration of wealth with the upper section of people has deprived the lower section of people of opportunities.
"No society can be a sustainable if there is income inequality and lack of opportunity. We must come out of these disparities," he added.
Prof Yunus suggested making a march by setting three goals: zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emission, for which big industries are the main culprits.
He expressed optimism that it is possible to make poverty rate to zero as Bangladesh has shown progress in that area.
Also, unemployment can be zero as human beings are created to solve others problems not to be a problem himself.
"We want to go back to that real human being who is powerful and solves others problems….. It is not just economic growth but sustainable economic growth," he said.
Prof Yunus suggested utilising four mega powers like the power of youths, technology, social business and good governance.
He warned against the use of the power of technology as technology is always the slave of profit makers and can be in wrong hands.
About 1,000 social business entrepreneurs have been developed so far by Yunus Centre, 50 of whom participated in a fair at the BICC.
In the inaugural session, ambassadors, high commissioners of different countries in Bangladesh and other dignitaries from across the world also spoke.          
In her speech, US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat said the concept of social business applies not only to the developing nations but also to the developed economies.  
With the establishment of Grameen America in 2008, Professor Yunus adapted solutions that were achieving results in the villages of Bangladesh to the urban neighborhoods of the United States.  
Although the United States has one of the largest economies worldwide and one of the highest average standards of living for its citizens, sadly, millions of Americans still live in poverty that disproportionately affects women," she added.  
More than one-third of US households headed by women are living in poverty.  
As it does in Bangladesh, Grameen sees women as the economic engine in these U.S. communities that can lift families out of poverty.
In the United States, the concept of social business is having a noteworthy impact on the formation of new enterprises and a sweeping influence on business education. Harvard Business School alone has more than 90 faculty members doing research and course development on social enterprises.  
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