October 23, 2006

GC HANDLES NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER

Global Communicators handles PR for Professor Muhammad Yunus who received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo during a ceremony on Dec. 10. He was honored with Grameen Bank of Bangladesh for fathering the microcredit program that extends mini loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world.

Muhammad Yunus

GC chairman Jim Harff told O'Dwyer's that he has been providing media advice to Yunus since '04. "Around the world, we have supported Professor Yunus' dogged efforts to communicate the efficacy of microfinance in helping the poorest of the poor extricate themselves from the cycle of poverty that afflicts millions globally," said Harff, who handled PR from his Washington perch at Ruder Finn for Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo during the heyday of the '90s Balkans conflict.

GC arranged the media crush surrounding Yunis's visit to Korea on Oct. 20 to receive the "Seoul Peace Prize. The firm handled media work for Yunis in Seol, Beijiong, Hong Kong, and during the ceremonies in Oslo December 9-12.

Harff said the firm is leveraging Yunus' celebrity to "inform world leaders and the general public about the value of the microcredit movement in helping to solve basic human problems related to poverty through a simpe process of providing small loans to the poor to develop micro-enterprises that help them educate their children, provide healthcare and sustain an improved quality of life."

The Grameen Bank, which Yunus founded, has made loans worth $5.7B to 6.6M borrowers. Women got ninety seven percent of those funds. The loan recovery rate is a spectacular 99 percent.