Grameen School Integrates Entrepreneurship and Savings to Drive Community Collaborative Economy

(中央社訊息服務20231114 09:39:46)In the latter half of this year, the Foundation for Yunus Social Business Taiwan is teaming up with Co Cultivating Generation, a social housing youth creation unit of Songshan Health, to launch the Grameen School. The series of courses will focus on "entrepreneurship, savings, and mutual assistance." It will integrate knowledge related to micro-entrepreneurship in food processing and feature the Money Financial Trainer Study Center, experienced in financial education, sharing insights on savings and financial management. The Grameen School's core curriculum revolves around "Entrepreneurship, Savings, and Mutual Assistance," incorporating knowledge on food processing and micro-entrepreneurship. The Money Trainer Study Center will share expertise in financial education to empower elderly and social housing residents in the community. The graduation ceremony for the Grameen School was held on October 31. Participants exhibited processed food products crafted by their five-member teams, shared their learning experiences, and emphasized the mutual assistance process within the Grameen School.

Juno Wang, CEO of the Foundation for Yunus Social Business Taiwan and Chairman of Credit Union of Grameen in Taipei City, expressed the Foundation's aim to replicate Professor Muhammad Yunus's successful "Grameen Model" in Taiwanese society. This project aligns with the "Credit Union of Grameen in Taipei City" to encourage savings, promoting the development of the most popular social business in Taiwan. The collaboration also seeks to improve financial concepts through education, following Prof. Yunus's example, and enhance social cohesion through five-member mutual aid groups. The ultimate goal is to uplift the financial well-being of the poor or those in proximity to poverty, fostering independence through the community cooperative economy.

Philippa Tsai, President of the Foundation, expressed gratitude to Kelly Jan, CEO of Co Cultivating Generation, for their collaboration in planning the food processing course at Grameen School. Tsai envisions replicating the spirit of mutual goodwill in more social housing and community locations in Taiwan, aligning with Prof. Yunus's vision of three zeroes: zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions. The initiative also aligns with the United Nations' sustainability goal of SDG17 and diversified partnerships.

Feedback from the Grameen School graduation ceremony included a participant expressing gratitude to the Foundation for Yunus Social Business Taiwan for organizing the Grameen School series. The participant not only learned to establish community partnerships but also clarified financial concepts, ultimately transforming a business idea into a tangible product presented at the closing ceremony.

The Foundation also extended thanks to the Department of Urban Development, Taipei City Government, for its ongoing support of the Grameen School site, as well as the Taipei City Social Housing Youth Innovation Reward Program. Special thanks were given to Fan-Yun Shi, CEO of Collaborative O. Company, and Sin-ting Leu, partner of Dongming Social Housing, for their participation in the Grameen School closing ceremony. There is anticipation for the expansion of Grameen School in social housing in Taipei City, along with collaborative efforts with youth teams to promote a community-based goodwill economy in the future.