CA Urges Building a Beautiful World Beyond Today’s Gloom

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus addresses the opening of the 15th Social Business Day in Zirabo, Savar.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus emphasised the transformative power of social business to create a beautiful and better world, breaking free from the current global gloom. Speaking at the opening of the 15th Social Business Day, he said the bleak state of the world is not the fault of ordinary people but the result of actions by some.

“The world today is gloomy because some have made it so, not because of us,” he stated. “We want to create a beautiful world, and we can.”

The two-day event, jointly organised by the Yunus Centre and Grameen Group, is underway at the Samajik Convention Centre in Zirabo, Savar. This year’s theme is “Social Business is the Most Effective Way to Ensure Healthcare for All.”

Prof Yunus, addressing the audience as chief guest and keynote speaker, expressed confidence that social business can drive change not only in one country but across the globe, reshaping civilisation itself. “We can do it. Let’s make it happen,” he urged.

Highlighting the world’s current crises—including wars in India, Pakistan, Ukraine, Iran, Israel, and Palestine—he stressed that humanity is on the wrong path. Only through selflessness, imagination, and social business can a just and sustainable future be built.

He called for global cooperation to realise a world of “three zeros”: zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions.

“We must keep dreaming and chasing those dreams,” said the Nobel Laureate. “Imagination is at the core of building a new world.”

On healthcare, he acknowledged the universal challenge: “No country has yet solved healthcare for all, but it is a challenge we must and can tackle.”

Prof Yunus praised the resilience of Bangladesh’s youth who have moved the country “from extreme darkness to bright light” through their sacrifices and determination. “They have not done this just for Bangladesh, but for the entire world,” he said.

He urged young people worldwide to declare, “Enough is enough,” and to build a new civilisation free from selfishness, which he said is ingrained but must be balanced by selflessness.

The event features over a thousand participants from 38 countries, including international delegates and prominent speakers like former World Bank VP Ismail Serageldin, UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis, and Olympian Kady Kanout‚ Tounkara.

In the coming days, the programme will include plenary and breakout sessions exploring social business’s role in addressing healthcare inequalities and other global challenges.

A special Academia Dialogue is planned with North South University, alongside the Three Zero Club Convention focused on achieving zero carbon emissions, zero wealth concentration, and zero unemployment worldwide.

This gathering aims to foster innovation and solidarity to build a sustainable, just, and humane world.