CONCEPT NOTE

June 2021
Dear Friends,

I am happy to introduce the 3ZERO Club to you.

The initiative of setting up a global network of 3ZERO Clubs is undertaken to make

young people familiar with the goal of a three zero world and ways to achieve this
goal with the creative initiatives of young people. Each Club is a self-formed,
self-contained mini-Club of five members with self-chosen tasks to play a role in
creating a three zero world.

3ZERO Clubs are registered at 3Z Global Centre. It gives detailed instructions on

how to register a Club. Once the registration process is completed, the Club gets a
welcome letter with the Club’s ID number. Each 3ZERO Club is formally born after
being registered with the 3Z Global Centre and receiving a welcome letter.

Go ahead and create a 3ZERO Club if you are within the age range, or encourage
young people around you to create a Club. A 3ZERO Club is a lot of fun. You’ll be
amazed to see how many friends you can make all over the world and how much
you can do to create a world of three zeros.

Professor Muhammad Yunus

2006 Nobel Peace Laureate
INTRODUCTION

The 3ZERO Club is an initiative towards achieving the Nobel Peace Laureate
Professor Muhammad Yunus’s vision of creating a world of three zeros — zero net
carbon emission, zero wealth concentration for ending poverty, and zero
unemployment by unleashing entrepreneurship in all.

This initiative of setting up a global network of 3ZERO Clubs is undertaken to make

young people familiar with the goal of three zero world and ways to achieve this
goal with the creative initiatives of young people. Each Club is a self-formed,
self-contained mini-Club of five members with self-chosen tasks to play a role in
creating a three zero world. Each Club empowers itself by connecting with other
such Clubs, having a larger range of common features. The Clubs become
exponentially powerful as they link themselves up with each other. This networking
expedites, in a systematic way, the process of reaching the goal faster.

Each Club is a doer on its own and at the same time a support unit for many other
Clubs in the system. Each Club will define its role and programme as they grow. As
the Club activities widen, they transform the members who gradually unfold
themselves as a force to change the world. The Club gives the opportunity to
young people to take up the responsibility to create a world of their choosing
rather than spending their lives complaining about the world they live in. Each Club
can form its own “Circle” focusing on any particular subject or orientation, or join
any existing Circles to widen the world of friends having a common interest.

VISION

The vision of the 3ZERO Club is to create a world of three zeros – zero net carbon
emission, zero wealth concentration for ending poverty, and zero unemployment by
unleashing entrepreneurship in all.
MISSION

The mission of the 3ZERO Club is to inspire and enable the youth to ideate, create
and lead with the entrepreneurial spirit to solve the most pressing social and
environmental issues of our time.

CLUB

Each 3ZERO Club is formed with a fixed number of five young persons between the
age of 12 and 35 years. The age difference between the oldest and youngest
members within a Club cannot be more than seven years. Each Club is headed by a
person with the title of Key Person and assisted by a deputy known as Deputy Key
Person. Members at the time of the registration are known as Founding Members,
the Key Person as the Founding Key Person, the deputy as the Founding Deputy Key
person.

Unless the 3Z Global Centre is notified in December each year, the new Club Key
Person and the Club Deputy Key Person, current Key Person and the Deputy Key
Person will continue in their positions.

Anyone from any part of the world, from any poor, rich, rural, suburban and city
areas, can be a Club member or create a Club.

3ZERO CLUB REGISTRATION PROCESS

3ZERO Clubs are registered at 3Z Global Centre online at www.3zero.club. The

website gives detailed instructions on how to register. Once the registration process
is completed, the Club will get a welcome letter with the Club’s ID number. Each
3ZERO Club is formally born after being registered with the 3Z Global Centre and
receiving a welcome letter.
AREA OF FOCUS OF A 3ZERO CLUB

There are so many things a 3ZERO Club can do to turn the world around. A Club may
start with a very broad area of interest, such as achieving a world of three zeros. To
make it manageable, the Club has to find a narrow area within the broad subject.
This needs intensive discussion among the Club members. They can see what other
3ZERO Clubs are doing and the common interest among the members of their Club.

The focus decided by the Club becomes a part of the name of the Club. For
example, if the Club chooses ‘environment’ as the core issue, it will be known as
“3ZERO Club for Environment”.

There are many focus areas to choose from, such as:

Environment & Technology &

climate change innovation WASH Sports

Health &
Microcredit Waste Education
wellbeing

Entrepreneurship Circular economy Employment Art, culture &

music

History Tourism People with

Economics
disabilities

Agriculture Forestry Food & nutrition Mother and child

Energy Transport Literature Social business

Social fiction Journalism

A Club is free to choose any area of focus. A Club can choose a focus that is not in
the above list, or a branch of any one of these. If requested, 3Z Global Centre may
connect a 3ZERO Club with Clubs with similar interest.

ACTIVITIES OF A 3ZERO CLUB

The activities of a 3ZERO Club can be as diversified as the members making it up.
Each Club is its own decision-maker within the framework of the mission of the Club.
It will decide on the focus of its attention. It can narrow down its attention to a very
specific aspect of a large agenda. It will all depend on the aptitude, special interest,
experience and orientation of the Club members. A Club may begin with an
objective of learning – to learn from members from other Clubs. But sooner or later it
has to start a programme around a particular subject on which it will focus. The
focus area can be changed any time later by notifying the 3Z Global Centre that is
responsible for keeping all records. 3ZERO Clubs set up a process of learning from
each other, inspiring each other and finding strength from each other.

Each Club is responsible for designing its action programmes and executing these
programmes. The Clubs are encouraged to keep 3Z Global Centre informed about
their programmes and any changes in the programmes, for record-keeping and
sharing the details of the programmes with other Clubs in their Circles to help enrich
each other’s programmes.

A continuous process of mutual sharing is the key to the success of the Clubs in
achieving the collective goals of all the Clubs.

A basic test of the success of a Club is to check if all members are enjoying
whatever they are doing through the Club. If they are not enjoying them, then the
Club has to revisit its own programmes, as well as the programmes of the Circles
that the Club is associated with. A 3ZERO Club must be a constant source of joy,
excitement, and achievements to its members.
The Club must give the members a feeling that they can do something concrete
and significant in the local context, to begin with, and ultimately hoping to make it
important even in the global context. It is the significance of each thought and
action of the Club that makes the Club worthwhile. The most important aspect of
the Club is its commitment and the direction of its actions. No action is insignificant
if it is directed to changing the world. Turning imaginations into tiny actions is the
core strategy of the Clubs.

Long-term commitment of each Club, linking up with other Clubs to broaden the
Circle of friends to learn from each other, work together, and the massive power of
communication technology can set in motion the tsunami of change that is
desperately needed now.

INITIAL DAYS

The Club may start with a deep discussion among the members about what it
would like to do in the first six months. The Club may contact the 3Z Global Centre to
see if there are Clubs or Support Organisations that provide orientation services to
new 3ZERO Clubs. The Club may take its own initiative to understand the concept of
3ZEROs and translate the concept into action items.

Members may try to get a broad understanding of the problems of global warming,
wealth concentration, and unemployment and may search for examples that play a
role in addressing them in concrete ways.

They may –

explore how social business can be created to address these problems;

get introduced to some social businesses which are devoted to addressing these
problems;
 participate in events related to the concept of 3ZEROs and Social Businesses; and

connect with other Clubs to organise common programmes or join their

programmes.

CIRCLES, CIRCLE CENTRES AND NETWORKS

A Club may reach out to another Club or a group of Clubs having the same focus
area or some common denominator. It may look for Clubs in the same city or even
neighborhood or look for Clubs of a specific type of membership, such as same
gender or age group.

Five or more Clubs with some common characteristics may form a cluster to be
known as a Circle. A Circle is recognised only when it is registered with the 3Z Global
Centre. The participating Clubs decide the common features of a particular Circle.
A Club can get in touch with the 3Z Global Centre to get their help in finding Clubs
with common characteristics to form a ‘Circle’ or to join an existing Circle with
desired features.

Clubs may form a Circle based on common country, language, province, district,
city, a particular neighbourhood of a city, or any other administrative or
geographical identity, such as the multi-national entities like EU, ASEAN, SAARC etc.
or any other common denominator.

Circles decide their own common programmes. The initiating Club or one of the
participating Clubs is designated as the Circle Centre to undertake the coordinating
role of the Circle Centre. The key person of the Centre is known as the “navigator” for
the Circle. The co-key person is known as the “co-navigator”.
In addition to Circles, Clubs can form a “Network”. Unlike the Circle, the Network
doesn’t need any common denominator. For any convenience, Clubs can form
Networks. Networks have Network Centres with Network Navigators and Deputy
Navigator, just like the Circles. The common goal for all Clubs would be to connect
with each other for more power to create more impact.

ROLE OF AFFILIATING INSTITUTIONS

YUNUS SOCIAL BUSINESS CENTRE (YSBC)

A Yunus Social Business Centre (YSBC) is an academic centre located in a university

to undertake research, action research and offer courses on social business. YSBCs
may offer informal affiliation to 3ZERO Clubs to help them organise their
programmes, provide guidance to implement programmes, connect university
faculty and students, monitor the activities of the Club, offer training facilities,
undertake action-researches, conduct design competitions, connect them with
resource persons, and give them technical assistance.

As a token of affiliation, the YSBC will issue a certificate of affiliation to a 3ZERO Club.
A YSBC may withdraw its affiliation to any Club without assigning any reason.
Similarly, a Club may decide to discontinue its affiliation with a YSBC. In both cases,
it has to be done through 3Z Global Centre. If a Club is not affiliated with a YSBC, it
would be deemed to be affiliated with 3Z Global Centre.

3Z SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS

Organisations that are willing to provide any kind of assistance to Clubs may be
registered with 3Z Global Centre as 3Z Support Organisations.
Clubs, Circles and Networks can approach the 3Z Global Centre to get connected
with appropriate 3Z Support Organisations. There will be choices of programmes
offered to Clubs, and Circles, such as design competitions, workshops, field visits,
events etc. Some 3Z Support Organisations may aim at the specific type of Clubs,
Circles and Networks, and others may offer services to all Clubs, Circles, and
Networks.

3Z GLOBAL CENTRE

The 3Z Global Centre is responsible for resolving all issues relating to the Clubs,
Circles, and Networks. It has the final decision-making power on all issues relating to
rules and procedures, objectives, registration, affiliation, cancellation of registration,
acceptance and cancellation of membership in any Circles, or Networks or any
other organisational matters.

Power to prepare and amend guidelines that defines the relationship among the
Clubs and between the Clubs and the 3Z Global Centre remains vested in 3Z Global
Centre. It is responsible for keeping all information about the leadership,
membership, receiving and disseminating all news, activity reports, presentations,
videos, photographs, from Clubs, Circles, Networks, etc.

The 3Z Global Centre is headed by an Executive Officer (EXO). The EXO is appointed
by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, who is the Chief Advisor of the 3Z
Global Centre.

The 3Z Global Centre serves as a one-stop help centre for all Clubs, Circles, support
organisations, YSBCs, and facilitates networking among all Clubs and associated
organisations. It plays a key role in co-organising and coordinating network events,
programs, and competitions. The 3Z Global Centre helps the Clubs to get
connected with support organisations and facilitate and co-organise programs for
affiliating institutions. It provides services to Clubs to get introduced to individuals
who can help Clubs to develop and execute their programs. It makes efforts to
connect Clubs with foundations, government agencies, international organisations,
corporates, media, business leaders and organisations who may support Club
activities, and vice versa. It draws media attention to programmes and projects
undertaken by Clubs. It helps Clubs in organising national, regional, and global
programmes. It organises various design competitions, workshops, lectures, and
conferences. It invites ideas and proposals from Clubs to undertake various
programmes at a local, regional or global level. All 3ZERO Clubs, Circles, Networks,
the 3Z Global Centre are informal entities.

EXO
The 3Z Global Centre
9th Floor, Grameen Telecom Bhaban, Zoo Road, Mirpur 1, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh
Email: connect@3zero.club | Website: www.3zero.club