CA inspires graduates to reimagine future
Published: 14 May 2025, 9:15:36
Nobel Laureate and Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday called upon the youth to envision a radically different and better world, urging them to nurture the courage to reshape the future.
“We possess the ability to create the world we truly desire,” Prof Yunus told thousands of graduates while addressing the 5th Convocation of Chittagong University (CU), held on the university’s central playground. “But to do so, each of us must dare to dream—dream of a new society and a more humane civilisation.”
Speaking passionately, Prof Yunus reflected on his early days as a faculty member at CU in the 1970s. He shared how the 1974 famine and its devastating impact on local communities sparked the birth of what would eventually become the Grameen Bank, a revolutionary initiative rooted in empathy and grassroots financial empowerment.
“Our current civilisation is driven by profit, not people,” he said, warning that such an economic model is ultimately self-destructive. “This profit-centric system cannot survive because it ignores the well-being of humanity.”
At the ceremony, CU formally awarded Prof Yunus an honorary Doctor of Literature (D. Litt) degree, recognising his global contributions to poverty alleviation through microcredit and his advocacy for peace and human dignity. CU Vice-Chancellor Dr Muhammad Yeahia Akhter presented the degree.
The convocation, the largest in Bangladesh’s history, celebrated the academic achievements of 22,586 graduates from various disciplines.
Education Adviser Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar and UGC Chairman Prof Dr SMA Faiz also addressed the audience, congratulating the graduates and applauding the university’s role in advancing higher education in the country.
CU Pro-Vice Chancellors Dr Mohammed Shamim Uddin Khan (Academic) and Md Kamal Uddin (Administration) were present along with a host of faculty members, dignitaries, and students.
Prof Yunus’s words served as a powerful call to action, inspiring the graduates to rise above conventional career paths and strive to become agents of transformation in society.
