Muhammad Yunus sees sports as unifying force to solve social problems

Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Advisor of the interim government of Bangladesh, on Saturday said the power of sports should be used for social purposes like it was done during the Paris Olympics 2024.

Paris 2024 and its partners have decided to make the Olympic and Paralympic Games a responsible event in economic, social and environmental terms.

So, Paris 2024 joined forces with trade unions and employer organisations by signing a social charter together on June 19, 2019. A first for a major sporting event, this initiative guarantees a responsible and sustainable approach to the Games, according to the description on the Paris Olympics website.

"I have been encouraging the power of sports to be utilised for social purposes. I am glad the Paris Olympics 2024 paid attention to it. Together with the Paris Olympics 2024, we created a new concept of Olympics social business Olympics," the 84-year-old Nobel laureate said.

Yunus made these remarks while addressing the third Voice of Global South Summit which was hosted by India in a virtual format.

Yunus was in Paris when the student-led anti-government protests in Dhaka led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government. Yunus had to cut short his stay in Paris and rush back to Dhaka after he was appointed the interim chief of the new government in Bangladesh on August 8.

"Paris Olympics was designed as a social business Olympics. As the Global South, we can work together to unleash the social power of sports," Yunus said.

The concept of social business, which Yunus introduced into the economic framework, is defined as a non-dividend company dedicated to solving social problems, such as healthcare, education, sanitation, water pollution, unemployment, environmental degradation, etc, according to the Paris Olympics website.

Yunus is the father of microcredit and social business, and the founder of Grameen Bank and more than 50 other companies in Bangladesh.

Paris 2024, SOLIDEO and the Paris City Council have joined forces with the Yunus Centre, the resource centre for social business in France, and the not-for-profit organisation Les Canaux, which supports innovative, socially-oriented companies, not-for-profits, organisations, foundations, and individuals, the website read.