The Marriott School at Brigham Young University will host the second annual MicroEnterprise conference March 26-27, 1999.
The MicroEnterprise movement supports innovative approaches to alleviating poverty and suffering throughout the world. Guided by a central philosophy of helping the poor help themselves, MicroEnterprise provides training, consulting and access to credit for the poor around the globe.
The theme of this year's conference is "Investing in the Poor." The conference will bring together educators, investors and non-governmental organizations involved with MicroEnterprise, and hopes to educate the general public about the fundamental principles of this movement. The conference will include large group presentations and small action-oriented workshops planned to help both experienced volunteers and interested newcomers get involved in the various aspects of MicroEnterprise.
"The MicroEnterprise movement is an exciting new way for individuals, families and communities to get involved in the fight against poverty," said Donald Adolphson, chairman of the conference's planning committee. "Many people are beginning to realize they can help alleviate suffering in the world without leaving home."
The MicroEnterprise movement has its roots in the work of Muhammad Yunus, the father of microcredit and founder of Grameen Bank, headquartered in Bangladesh. The bank is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing small loans to individuals who cannot otherwise obtain credit. Yunus has visited Utah twice, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from BYU in 1998. Alex Counts, executive director of Grameen Foundation USA, will represent Yunus's organization at the conference.
The history of the MicroEnterprise movement in Utah can be traced to, among others, Warner Woodworth, a professor of organizational behavior at BYU's Marriott School and author of Working Toward Zion and Small Really Is Beautiful: Micro Approaches to Third World Development.
Conference presenters include Arun Gandhi, grandson of the Mahatma Gandhi and director of the Gandhi Institute for Non-Violence; Alexander Morrison, member of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Modibo Diarra, Mali field director of the Ouelessebougou-Utah Alliance; and other international leaders in the MicroEnterprise movement.
The conference, which is free to the public, will be held in the Wilkinson Student Center on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah. Two hunger banquets, sponsored by BYU Students for International Development, will be held on Thursday and Friday evenings, March 25 and 26. Tickets for the banquets are $5 each and must be purchased in advance by calling (801) 378-6192.
For more information or to pre-register for the conference, contact Donald Adolphson, associate director of the Romney Institute of Public Management, by phone: (801) 378-2433, fax: (801) 378-8975, or e-mail: donald_adolphson@byu.edu.
Writer: Quinn Warnick
