Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus speaks at Elizabethtown College April 4

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ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (02/21/2012)(readMedia)-- Elizabethtown College welcomes Professor Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate, at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, as keynote speaker for the 2012 Ware Lecture on Peacemaking. Yunus originated the concept of Grameen Bank-banking without collateral-for the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh. In 2006, Yunus and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The lecture, free and open to the public, is in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center and is sponsored by the College's Center for Global Citizenship. Attendees must reserve tickets by calling 717-361-4757.

Ware Lecture on Peacemaking

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

8 p.m. - "Creating Hope and Success: Peace and Development through Entrepreneurship and Social Activism"

Leffler Chapel and Performance Center

Tickets are free but must be reserved by calling 717-361-4757.

Sponsored by the College's Center for Global Citizenship

Professor Muhammad Yunus is the founder of Grameen Bank, currently operating 1,781 branches and providing credit to 5.6 million poor people residing in 60,815 villages in Bangladesh.

Yunus studied economics at Vanderbilt University and earned his doctorate in economics in 1970. He taught economics at Middle Tennessee University from 1969 to 1972. Returning to Bangladesh in 1972, he joined the University of Chittagong as head of the Economics Department. He started the Grameen Bank Project in 1976, transforming it into a formal bank in 1983. The Grameen Bank offers small loans supporting self-employment for the rural poor, especially poor women.

Yunus has received the Ramon Magsaysay Award from Philippines; Mohamed Shabdeen Award for Science, Socio Economic from Sri Lanka; International Simón Bolivar Prize from Venezuela; Ozaki Gakudo Award from Japan; Indira Gandhi Prize from India; Sydney Peace Prize from Australia; Rotary Award for World Understanding and Peace from the United States; Roma Award for Peace and Humanitarian Action from Italy; King Hussein Leadership Prize from Jordan; International Cooperation Prize Caja de Granada from Spain; and, in 2009, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor.

Within Bangladesh, the Nobel Laureate received the President's Award, Central Bank Award and Independence Day Award-the highest state award. He was the first chair of the Policy Advisory Group of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP), was appointed as an International Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) and was inducted as a member of the Legion d'honneur by President Jacques Chirac of France.

Yunus has received honorary doctorate degrees from universities all over the world and serves on the boards of national and international organizations. Besides Grameen Bank, he has created companies in Bangladesh to address diverse issues of poverty and development, including Grameen Phone, (mobile telephone company); Grameen Cybernet, (internet service provider); Grameen Communications, (rural internet service provider); Grameen Software company, Grameen Information Technology Park, Grameen Fund, (Social Venture Capital Company), Grameen Capital Management company, Grameen Textile company, Grameen Knitwear company, Grameen Renewable Energy company, Grameen Health company, Grameen Education company, Grameen Agriculture company, Grameen Fisheries and Livestock company, and Grameen Business Promotion company.

About the Ware Lecture on Peacemaking:

The Ware Lecture on Peacemaking is part of the multifaceted Ware Colloquium on Peacemaking and Global Citizenship. The initiative creates a distinctive educational experience for Elizabethtown College's students and neighboring communities by marrying the College's pivotal mission areas of international education and purposeful life work with the College's Brethren heritage commitment to peace, non-violence and human dignity. Delivered annually under the auspices of the College's Center for Global Citizenship, the Ware Colloquium consists of three elements including the Ware Lecture on Peacemaking, the Ware Practicum in Conflict Resolution and the Ware Seminars on Global Citizenship.

Link to map of Elizabethtown College:

http://www.etown.edu/map/

Elizabethtown College, in south-central Pennsylvania, is a private coed institution offering more than four dozen liberal arts, fine and performing arts, science and engineering, business, communications and education degrees. Through personal attention, creative inspiration and academic challenge, Elizabethtown College students are encouraged to expand their intellectual curiosity and are given the opportunity to become a bigger part of the world through experiential learning-research, internships and study abroad. Elizabethtown College's overall commitment to Educate for Service is fulfilled as students are taught intellectually, socially, aesthetically and ethically for lives of service and leadership.

Visit www.etown.edu for more information about Elizabethtown College.