This year’s Social Business Day concluded with the Academia Dialogue and the 3ZERO Club Convention, marking the close of a three-day global gathering organized by the Yunus Centre and the Grameen Group. A special highlight of this year’s celebration was the commemoration of 50 years of Grameen Bank and 20 years since Professor Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a press release said.

Nearly 1,500 participants from 37 countries, including Bangladesh, registered to attend Social Business Day 2026, among them 220 international guests and delegates representing countries from around the world.

This year’s theme was “Social Business: The Language of Peace in a Fractured World.” The conference, held at the Samajik Convention Centre in Zirabo, Savar, featured five plenary sessions and seven breakout sessions, alongside 14 Country Forums — eight held in person at the main venue and six held virtually. The discussions, presentations, and forums addressed pressing global challenges, including poverty, healthcare, financial inclusion, climate action, education, food security, and youth empowerment, while exploring how social business can contribute to a more peaceful and sustainable world.

Notable speakers included Erik Solheim, President of the Europe-Asia Center and former Minister of Environment and International Development of Norway; Kim Reksten Grønneberg, Director of Communications and Marketing at the Nobel Peace Center; Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and former Vice President of the World Bank (1992–2000); Elisa Yavchitz, Member of the Council, Council of Paris, France; Houriya B. Ahmed, Executive Director of the Policy Hub at Qatar Foundation; Masahiro Hashimoto, Mayor of Sakai City, Japan; Kate Robertson, Co-founder of One Young World; Dr. Pornchai Mongkhonvanit, President of Siam University, Thailand; Professor Dato’ Ir. Dr. Mohd Saleh Jaafar, Vice Chancellor and President of Albukhary International University, Malaysia; and Professor Giuseppe Torluccio, Professor of Banking and Finance at the University of Bologna, Italy.

Other distinguished speakers included Ashik Chowdhury, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA); Md. Fazlul Kader, Managing Director of the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF); Carol Gribnau, Director of the DOEN Foundation (Dutch Postcode Lottery Foundation); Lydia Siebers, Managing Director of the Dutch Postcode Lottery; Philippe Guichandut, General Secretary of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation; Dr. Edzel Almanza Ramos, President and CEO of CARD MRI; Dr. Dolores M. Torres, Senior Management Advisor at CARD Bank, Inc.; Corazon A. Henares, Chairperson of the Board of Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF); Suzette D. Gaston, Executive Director and President of NWTF; Lacy Hubbard, President and CEO of the Elekta Foundation; Kate Moynihan, Executive Director and CEO of Seva Foundation; Joseph Hazel, Group Chief Executive Officer of Apex Health; Dr. Emadul Islam, Senior Research Fellow at the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI), The Sasakawa Peace Foundation; and Fr. Francesco Occhetta, Jesuit priest, writer, and expert on social and political affairs, Vatican/Italy.

The opening ceremony was attended by special guests Dr. Khalilur Rahman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, and Richard Griffith, Senior Advisor at SpaceX. Ambassadors, High Commissioners, and representatives of diplomatic missions in Dhaka also attended the inauguration.

Participants in the conference also included former Advisers to Bangladesh’s Interim Government — Dr. Asif Nazrul, Adilur Rahman Khan, Sharmeen S. Murshid, Farida Akhter, Farooq-e-Azam, A. F. M. Khalid Hossain, Brigadier General (Retd.) M. Sakhawat Hossain, Nahid Islam, and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, along with Professor Ali Riaz, Vice-Chair of the National Consensus Commission, and many other policymakers, academics, and development leaders.