'Pope Francis Yunus 3Zero Club' launched in Rome

Dhaka: Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Pope Francis jointly launched a 'Pope Francis Yunus 3Zero Club' in Rome in an effort to “usher in a transformative and inclusive future for humanity,” it was announced on Saturday.

The three Zs stand for zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions. Yunus, the Nobel laureate had in 2017 penned a book 'A World of Three Zeroes: the new economics of zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions,' which talks about his dreams of a world without poverty, unemployment and environmental devastations.

The '3Zero Club' stands as a beacon of hope for the youth from marginalised communities, providing a platform to develop innovative ideas and create concrete and sustainable solutions.

In a letter to the Vicar General of Rome, Cardinal Baldo Reina, Yunus, said he was “deeply honoured” by the gesture and added: “This remarkable initiative embodies the shared vision of His Holiness Pope Francis and my own aspirations for a transformative and inclusive future.”

The chief adviser's press wing said, the initiative not only aims to achieve zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions but also aspires to “foster the emergence of a new civilisation - one grounded in compassion, equity, and sustainability.”

“A civilisation where not only should no one be left behind, but where each person can also be the protagonist of their destiny, proud to belong to one human family, as the Holy Father has emphasised in recent years,” the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) said quoting Yunus.

He further added that the '3Zero Club' encourages young minds to envision and implement projects that drive meaningful change “inspired by Pope Francis's unwavering commitment to social justice and my belief in the power of social business.”

According to the latest counts, there are at least 4,600 Three Zero Clubs across the globe, all inspired by Prof Yunus's vision for a new civilisation, the BSS said, adding, many of the clubs are set up in universities.