Microcredit summit ends in Spain amid hopes for MDGs

Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus was at the Sculpture Museum in Valladolid yesterday to unveil a plaque in honour of Bartolome De las Casas who fought for the human rights of the native people of Latin America in the 16th century. Spanish Minister for Development Cooperation Soraya Rodriguez, third from right, is also seen. Photo: Nasir Ali Mamun

The Global Microcredit Summit 2011 concluded yesterday at Valladolid in Spain with an aim to alleviate poverty and reach the millennium development goals through microcredit.
Queen Sofia of Spain and Nobel peace prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus opened the four-day summit that kicked off on November 14.
More than 2,000 delegates from more than 90 countries attended the summit, including heads of state and government and other dignitaries.
The event provided the opportunity for microfinance practitioners, advocates, investors, donors and others committed to the goals of Microcredit Summit Campaign to assess progress, discuss challenges to achieving the goals set for 2015 Microcredit Summit, share best practices, and accelerate innovations.
The summit included six cutting edge topics discussed in plenary, over 50 workshop sessions, a number of intensive daylong courses on a variety of subjects and some 30 additional associated sessions organised by the delegates.
Sessions at the summit demonstrated that microfinance institutions can provide access to financial services and, in some cases, offer non-financial services that can contribute to improvements in the health, education and overall well-being of clients and their families.
Prof Yunus urged everyone to start social businesses, no matter how small. "Once you have your goals set, then gradually, continuously, you can start solving social problems. The Wright Brothers did not create a jet airplane right away," he said.
"You must create a solution then continuously improve it."
Yunus expressed regret that the crisis had forced decisions to be made that affected microcredit. Against this backdrop of dark clouds, he argued that "Microcredit is a shining hope, creating light at the end of the tunnel".
"The world of microfinance and this summit are absolutely necessary to achieve the United Nations' MDGs and reduce by half the number of people living on less than $1 a day," said Queen Sofia, who is also the honorary co-chair of Microcredit Summit Campaign.
"Spain has become the second largest donor [to the microfinance sector] in the world," Sofia added.
Spain contributes more than any other OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries to development cooperation, the seventh highest amount in the world, said Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs Trinidad Jimenez.
"The crisis has forced us to make decisions, but that will not affect our convictions. We must continue making effective progress toward the eradication of poverty," she said.
Spanish Secretary of State for Development Cooperation Soraya Rodríguez stressed the "courage, bravery and tenacity" of Professor Yunus and emphasised that microfinance opens up a window of opportunity.
"We need ideas and this global summit is a unique opportunity," Rodríguez said.
During the summit, a photo exhibition by Daniel Mordzinski, titled "Yunus. The Banker of Dignity" was opened by Queen Sophia and the President of the Province of Valladolid Ramiro Ruiz Medrano.
The streets of Valladolid are displaying pictures of Professor Yunus on it.
Director of the World Microcredit Campaign Sam Daley-Harris, the President of the Autonomous Government of Castilla y León Juan Vicente Herrera, and the Mayor of Valladolid Francisco Javier León de la Riva also attended the summit.
The first Global Summit was held in Washington in 1997.