Volume 4, Number 1 (2009) The Hidden Dimensions of Poverty: Rethinking Poverty and Education

PROLOGUE

Editor: Examining the seemingly intractable issues of poverty requires imagination, innovation, and creative efforts and considerable courage in the face of entrenched beliefs and structures. In looking at the hidden dimensions of poverty and the implications for rethinking poverty and education, the editors of the journal were well aware that whole new ways of thinking were required to attack the problems systemically and globally. One person who has opened new vistas for thinking about this issue has been Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. We are dedicating this issue to Dr. Yunus who has graciously written a prologue for the issue.

 Figure 1: Dr. Muhammad Yunus accepts the invitation
 from Editor Lorraine Kasprisin at the reception of the
 Global State of Washington Initiative in Seattle in 2007.

Excerpt from Nobel Peace Prize citation

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006, divided into two equal parts, to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank for their efforts to create economic and social development from below. Lasting peace can not be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Micro-credit is one of these means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights. Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries. Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea. From modest beginnings three decades ago, Yunus has, first and foremost through Grameen Bank, developed micro-credit into an ever more important instrument in the struggle against poverty. Grameen Bank has been a source of ideas and models for the many institutions in the field of micro-credit that have sprung up around the world. Every single individual on Earth has both the potential and the right to live a decent life. Across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development.