Dinner and a Movie: Bonsai People
Monday April 30, 5:00-7:30 PM in the Wilson College Blackbox Theater
Wilson College presents the newly released movie: Bonsai People: The Vision of Muhammad Yunus
Followed by dinner and discussion with microfinance practicioners.
Please RSVP to Mike McCaffrey by Wednesday April 25th: mmccaffr@princeton.edu
Dr. Muhammad Yunus: the original social entrepreneur or a false idol?
The United Nations declared 2005 the Year of Microcredit, and in 2006 Dr. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in the field, claiming to pioneer a new developmental model that would “put poverty in a museum”. However a rash of suicides related to microcredit in India, and a bevy of carefully conducted studies have also exposed the pitfalls of giving loans to impoverished people and caused a fall from grace for Dr. Yunus and the field in general. While Dr.Yunus has been forced to step down as head of the Grameen Bank, he has refocused himself on founding over 40 social enterprises, and the field of microfinance has had to fundamentally redefine itself.
What is the true story behind this developmental soap opera, and what are the key lessons all interested in social entrepreneurship should know?
Audience: students
Location: BlackBox Theater (Wilcox Hall)
Date/Time: 04/30/12 at 5:00 pm - 04/30/12 at 7:00 pm
Category: RGS Event
Department: Wilson College