Yunus Centre Press Release (26 May 2023)

Yunus, George Clooney address  the German Post Code Lottery Charity Gala in Germany

Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus was a keynote speaker at the 2023 Charity Gala event of the Germany Post Code Lottery in Dusseldorf on May 24, 2023.

The German Post Code Lottery is one of the five Post Code Lotteries in five European countries where 13 million people participate in lotteries based on postcode with winnings for all those playing from a certain postcode. Between 33 percent to 40 percent of revenues from the post code lotteries support charities around the world. The Dutch Post Code Lottery (DPCL) and the German Post Code Lottery (GPCL) have been supporting Professor Yunus’ global social business movement through YY Foundation for many years.

The German Post Code Lottery is rapidly growing and along with the post code lotteries of five other countries including the Dutch Post Code Lottery which originated the program, is becoming a major source of funding for charities in the world, third only to Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust.

Professor Yunus has been invited to be their  International Ambassador for the post code lottery since 2012.  He spoke about his journey with microcredit, social business , universal entrepreneurship, and campaigning for creating a new civilization by creating a 3Zero World  of zero global warming, zero wealth concentration and zero unemployment.

He talked about re-designing economic framework,  policies and institutions which he said were responsible for all  the  mega problems of the world. He highlighted the role of social business, universal entrepreneurship   and about the role of the youth in building that new civilization.

After Professor Yunus spoke actor and activist George Clooney who is also an international ambassador for the post code lottery, elaborated on his work along with his wife Amal through the Clooney Foundation and highlighted their work in South Sudan and Darfur and other conflict ridden places where he found  microcredit program that Professor Yunus created had made a world of difference to  people — he called microcredit “masterful”. He thanked  Professor Yunus for coming up with this brilliant idea.

An ambassador for the lottery is Yusra Mardini  a refugee  from Syria  who competed at the Olympics as a  member of the refugee team. She  had to flee Syria at the age of 17 when her home was destroyed. Yusra is an ambassador attached  with the UNCHR.

Before the gala Professor Yunus had a separate meeting with George Clooney with whom he has worked before. Besides  having spoken together at the same event, Mr Clooney had signed Professor Yunus’ call to End Genocide against the Rohingya more recently his call to make Covid 19 Vaccines as a Global Common Good free of IP. Mr Clooney in his talk with Professor Yunus that microcredit following Prof Yunus approach had made a big difference in the lives of people in the areas that he and Amal Clooney as part of the  Clooney Foundation was working for in South Sudan/ Darfur.  He mentioned that Ms Amal Clooney had especially wanted to be present on this occasion to meet Professor Yunus.

The charity  gala was attended by 500 high level citizens  of Germany  including representatives of the main charities of Germany and the winners of the lottery some of whom shared their stories of how they used their winnings.