One thing that makes it fun be around SIPA is the constant stream of speakers that visit.  It is not uncommon to have the opportunity to attend 15-20 different events per week in our building or on campus.  It is easy to find out what is going on each week, all you need to do is to sign up for a weekly email that goes out with information about activities taking place each week.  Simply visit this site and enter your information.

One highlight of last week was a talk by Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen movement and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient.  He is considered a pioneer in the field of microcredit, which provides “micro” loans to the poor to serve as a catalyst for improving their socioeconomic status.

In Bangladesh today, Grameen Bank has nearly 1,100 branches, with over 12,000 staff members serving two million borrowers in 37,000 villages.  Yunus was born in 1940 in Chittagong, the third of fourteen children.  He was educated at Chittagong, and received a Fulbright Fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. in Economics at Vanderbilt University.  He has served on many committees and commissions dealing with population, health, banking, and international development.  He is the recipient of the World Food Prize, the President’s Award of Bangladesh, and numerous other awards and distinctions.

Picture Credit to Wikipedia