Yunus Centre statement over UNESCO Award is misleading: Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury

Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury called “misleading” and “deceitful” a Yunus Centre statement that claimed Professor Mohammmad Yunus has been conferred with a UNESCO Award saying it diminished the reputation of both the Nobel Laureate and Bangladesh.

“The information disseminated by Yunus Center about the UNESCO award was inaccurate and misleading,” said Chowdhury, also the Chairman of the Bangladesh UNESCO Commission, while talking to newsmen at his Secretariat office.

Chowdhury said the UNESCO Headquarters declined to have conferred any such award to Yunus as the education ministry contacted them and the report disseminated referring to Yunus and the Yunus Centre is entirely false and fraudulent.

The Yunus Centre last week issued a statement headlined “Professor Yunus Inspires Global Leaders with Special Address at XI Global Baku Forum. Receives 'Tree of Peace' Award from UNESCO”.

It read: “At the closing evening of the XI Global Baku Forum, Professor Yunus was honored with ‘The Tree of Peace’ award from UNESCO at the closing dinner of the XI Global Baku Forum”.

The minister asked the Yunus centre to refrain from disseminating such deceitful information and said Bangladesh might consider taking legal actions against such misinformation.

"It is imperative that we set the record straight and ensure that such misinformation does not tarnish the reputation of our country,” Chowdhury said adding his office would send letter to UNESCO headquarters in Paris informing them about the misleading news and seek its intervention to stop such phenomenon.

Officialls concerned said an Israeli sculptor Hedva Ser built a structure called The Tree of Peace to portray the United Nation’s motto.

Bangladesh National Commission for UNESCO under the education ministry, meanwhile issued a statement saying UNESCO's Dhaka office as well said their headquarters in Paris was not aware of this.

There was no official UNESCO representation at the 11th Baku Forum where the award announcement was made.

Bangladesh National Commission for UNESCO statement also said the award claimed by the Yunus Centre was not any "prize or honour" affiliated with UNESCO.

It said Hedva Ser, a UNESCO goodwill ambassador for cultural diplomacy, also confirmed that UNESCO was not involved in granting the “Tree of Peace” award to Yunus.

"Hedva Ser is not an official UNESCO representative and has no authority to confer UNESCO prizes or honours," the statement read.

However, the Yunus Center, founded by Yunus to promote social business and entrepreneurship, is yet to respond to the remarks of the education minister.