This year’s Nobel Prize was awarded to Mohammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank for their efforts to help the poor (and especially women) through micro-credit.
http://www.grameen-info.org/
This bank also offers a program encouraging the use of renewable energy to produce electricity through its company called Shakti.
http://www.grameen-info.org/grameen/gshakti/index.html
Profile of Muhammad Yunus
http://eur.news1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/xp/afpji/20061013/061013155512.42iy9t161_profile-of-muhammad-yunusb.jpg ( short profile in a poster)
http://www.grameen-info.org/agrameen/profile.php3?profile=1 (from the Grameen Bank)
http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/meet/yunus.html (from PBS)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6047234.stm (from the BBC)
His interview for the Nobel site (audio + transcript)
The first half of the recording is just getting through to him, so the file needs editing. Then he speaks with a very strong accent, but if advanced students want to practice audio comprehension of someone with an indian accent over the phone, this is the perfect document. You can also find the transcript of the conversation, but the content itself is not very interesting.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/yunus-interview.html
Videos
« Nobel winner to use prize to help poor » (from CNN, with videos, no transcripts)
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/13/nobel.peace.winner.ap/index.html
« Nobel for anti-poverty pioneer » (from the BBC, with videos, no transcript)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6047020.stm?ls
News articles from Pakistan, India, the Emirates and Turkey
He was already awarded the « Indira Gandhi Award for Peace, Disarmament and Development » in India 1998.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2171923.cms
« Banking for the poor » (Dawn is a Pakistani newspaper)
http://www.dawn.com/2006/10/15/top19.htm
« Bangladesh Nobel laureate vows to make poverty history » ( Khaleej Times is the No.1 English language daily newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. )
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/October/subcontinent_October526.xml§ion=subcontinent
« Bangladeshi professor wins Nobel peace Prize » ( Zaman is a Turkish newspaper)
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=economy&alt=&trh=20061014&hn=37340
About micro-credit
What is micro-credit (a very comprehensive document from the university of Indiana, presenting the system)
http://www.indiana.edu/~aid/resources/issues/microcredit.doc
What is micro-credit, by M.Yunus himself
http://www.grameen-info.org/bank/WhatisMicrocredit.htm
2005 was the International year of Micro-credit.
http://www.yearofmicrocredit.org/pages/reslib/reslib_inthenews_dec04.asp
On this other site, you can read the report written at the end of the year, and on November 12-15, 2006 the Global Micro-credit Summit will take place at the « World Trade and Convention Centre » in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
http://www.microcreditsummit.org/
» Micro-finance for macro-results » a long article from the UN chronicles explaining how microcredit works all over the world. Also includes related articles from the Microcredit Summit in Washington, DC and other interesting links on page 3.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1309/is_n1_v34/ai_19897984
Microcredit blog spot : see this interesting blog
http://indiamicrocredit.blogspot.com/2006/08/profile-of-muhammad-yunus.html
For micro-credit
» Nobel winner is lifeline for needy »
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/13/nobel.peace.reut/index.html
« Nobel winner Yunus, micro-credit missionary »
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_52/b3965024.htm
» From Access to Empowerment : Gender Issues in Micro-Finance »
http://www.gdrc.org/icm/wind/mayoux.html
« Micro-solution to the world’s macro-problems »
http://www.theage.com.au/news/tony-parkinson/microsolution-to-the-worlds-macroproblem/2005/07/07/1120704487935.html
Against micro credit
« is micro-credit a macro trap? » : a report showing that in Andhra Pradesh in India, it doesn’t really work.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/businessline/2002/09/25/stories/2002092500810900.htm
» Death by microcredit » from the Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1996002,curpg-1.cms
a long study about micro-credit in Ghana, fully described, showing that it didn’t reach the expected goals but still did a lot of good to women and appears really useful.
http://www.wireless.bridgew.edu/SoAS/jiws/Nov05V1/MicrocreditGhana.pdf
