by Piercarlo Presutti
Mohammad Yunus said sport will
improve the world and an athlete will one day win the Nobel
Peace Prize in an interview with ANSA.
Speaking about the Olympic Games opening Friday in Paris and
their meaning, Yunus, 84, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006
and is credited with establishing a pioneering system of
micro-finance loans that helped lift millions out of poverty,
rewrote Pierre de Coubertin in an ethical way, noting that "it
isn't important to win, but to win with an objective".
He said he is "obviously" rooting for the refugee team.
The Nobel laureate, an ambassador of the Paris Games and a
partner with his foundation of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter
Games, opened the interview with a reference to his country,
Bangladesh.
- Professor Yunus, you arrived in a Paris gearing up for the
Games, but in your country 200 students died during a protest
that was quelled by the government. What do you think about this
situation?
"I crossed the curfew to fly to Paris, while the 'shoot to kill'
policy was still in place. People were killed, it is still
happening, we don't know how many died and how many of the
injured will die. I launch an appeal to the entire world to help
us find a way to stop the ongoing killings. They must be
stopped".
- You have a strong connection with sport. Is it due to the fact
that it represents a fairer and more sustainable lifestyle or
because more work needs to be done in this sector?
"I became closer to sport for the emotional connection and
involvement people have with sport.In my country, I saw how
people react when their club or the team close to their heart
wins or loses. It's as if their fate depended on it. I realized
the magnitude of the social power of sport and how it can be
used for social transformation. The Paris Olympics have been
planned based on this principle - building an Olympic social
business - it is only a start, but it is an important start. It
is the first step of a 1,000-mile-long global journey".
-You have met Macron over the past days. France has made
sustainability the milestone of these Games. Are you both
satisfied of the results obtained so far?
"We both believe that important steps have been taken: it is
only the beginning, but it is an important beginning. It is the
first step of a global journey of 1,000 miles".
-Will there be a day when an athlete wins the Nobel Peace Prize?
"I don't see why not. If an athlete can have an impact on peace
among nations, he or she could receive the Nobel Peace Prize. I
received the Nobel Peace Prize for giving small sums of money to
people, a mechanism that was replicated and widened. I believe
the important thing is the way in which this influences the
process of global thinking. Youths see things in a different
way, therefore I don't see why one day a youth or an athlete
couldn't receive the Nobel Prize"
- In any case, which athlete best represents your ethical values
at the moment?
"I can't think of one specifically. I am not very familiar with
the personalities of sport!"
- Who do you root for?
"I root for Bangladesh's team and, naturally, I am a supporter
of the refugee Olympic team".
- Speaking about athletes, how do you see the situation of their
lives after they retire?
"Yes, I have said that athletes, after reaching their peak, can
at times feel excluded from society. But I believe it is only
the beginning of Phase 2: they can become entrepreneurs and in
this way free their creativity and their power. I believe every
human being is a born entrepreneur. They can still be powerful
creative human beings who contribute to their lives and the life
of others, even when they are not competing athletes anymore".
- Do you believe in social sponsorship or something else?
"We talk about social business which is a company without
dividends to solve human problems. It can be used to solve any
human problem. We have done it in many ways in Bangladesh and
elsewhere. It is a powerful instrument in our toolbox to try to
find solutions to social problems. It can start in a small way,
with a potential for significant growth".
- I am curious to know what you think about star athletes, from
America and elsewhere, who bring air conditioning to the
Village?
"I am not aware of this, but it is important to introduce a
social conscience starting from the first phases of the process.
It makes no sense to do this type of things as we attempt to
have a safe planet. We can't win medals at the cost of
destroying the planet. It's not about winning, but about winning
with a purpose".
-You have a strong connection with the Milan-Cortina Games. What
are you doing exactly for the event?
"Organizers of the 2026 Olympics were interested in what Paris
did with the creation of a social business for the Olympics and
they wanted to do the same thing. The Paris Olympics have
generated a lot of enthusiasm and want to maintain the
continuity of this enthusiasm during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
There are many common characteristics between the summer and
winter Games and a lot to learn.
- Speaking about the Winter Olympics: climate change will also
cause upheaval in sport (in particular in skiing, which is
increasingly at risk).But, in particular, it will widen the gap
between very rich and very poor countries. Which are the most
urgent actions to implement at a global level?
"I spoke about the need to create a new civilization based on
the vision of a three-zero world: zero net carbon emissions,
zero concentration of wealth and zero unemployment.Each one of
us needs to participate in the construction of this world,
regardless of who they are or where they are. Sport, which is a
global power, can play an important role in the creation of this
new civilization".
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