Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate and founder of the Grameen Bank, was honoured with Theirworld’s Unlock Big Change award in recognition of his pioneering work in social and economic development and his unwavering commitment to education.

Theirworld’s Annual High-Level Global Education Dinner, held during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, brought together global leaders and changemakers to champion education for all.

The event was held on Monday evening at a hotel in New York.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of Theirworld’s Unlock Big Change award to Prof Yunus, his Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said on Tuesday. 

Theirworld is a global children's charity committed to ending global education crisis and unleashing the potential of the next generation.

Co-hosted by Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education and former UK Prime Minister and Sarah Brown, Chair of Theirworld and Executive Chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education, the event celebrated the power of education to transform lives and communities.

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Prof Yunus was honoured alongside Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but it was Yunus’ lifelong mission to eradicate poverty through microfinance—and to make education a core part of that mission—that resonated most deeply with attendees.

In presenting the award, Gordon Brown praised Yunus as a global trailblazer whose work has empowered millions.

No project in the private sector has done more to release people from poverty in the past 50 years, he said.

Accepting the award, Prof Yunus reiterated that credit is a basic human right, equal in importance to food, healthcare and education.

“If you open the door to the financial system, nobody will be a poor person any more. I included education in the microcredit package, and we helped women make sure their children could go to school," he said. 

Throughout his remarks, Prof Yunus emphasised the interconnection between financial empowerment and educational opportunity. 

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He shared stories of individuals—particularly women—who, through microcredit, were able to lift their families out of poverty and ensure their children could attend school.

Prof Yunus also challenged traditional models of education, calling for a shift in mindset to foster creativity and entrepreneurship from an early age.

“As a child, you should be learning how to become an entrepreneur,” he said.

He said students in universities should be taught how to use business as a force for good. Any university should be a place where solving human problems is not just encouraged, but expected, he added.

“All human problems can be solved in a business way,” Prof Yunus said.