Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has said empowering women by turning them into entrepreneurs is key to the overall development of society and the focus of any government should be on creating entrepreneurs, not job seekers.
Yunus was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Bodoland Knowledge Festival in Kokrajhar, the administrative headquarters of the Bodoland Autonomous Region of Assam.
He was invited as the chief guest at the festival which took place from February 27 to March 2.
Yunus said: "We just do not give a chance to people to become entrepreneurs. We push them to become job-seeker instead."
"Grameen Bank's initiatives could bring a change in Bangladesh by turning women into entrepreneurs. "If 10 million women (borrowers of Grameen Bank) could become entrepreneurs, then we can easily conclude anybody can become an entrepreneur."
The festival focused on implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and the world at large. Issues discussed included science and technology, indigenous knowledge systems, women empowerment, child rights and protection, peace-building and good governance, and the role of BTR.
More than 300 delegates from across India, and 35 from 14 countries participated in the festival.
Besides addressing the festival, Yunus spoke at Bodoland College and Bodoland University. He spoke to the students and teachers at Rangiya College and Guwahati University. He had an intensive exchange of thoughts on education with the vice-chancellors of 10 universities in Assam in a special session on the sideline of the Bodoland Knowledge Festival.
BTR was created through a peace treaty in 2020 after almost 30 years of underground armed struggle by Bodos of Assam demanding a separate state for them. Many people gave their lives in the struggle.
Under the peace treaty, an autonomous Bodoland territorial region was created under the leadership of Promod Boro who became the first chief executive of the autonomous Bodo territory to ensure autonomy for the Bodo people.
Knowledge Festival was the first international event organised by the Bodoland Territorial Council to get connected with the bigger world to find ideas to bring changes to Bodo people.