The director of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Stein Toennesson, said he was happy on behalf of Mr Yunus, but argued that it was unfortunate the prize this year had not gone to the people behind the peace deal in Indonesia's Aceh province.

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Muhammad Yunus, the Grameen Bank founder who helped to establish the concept of microfinancing, has said that, if the poor, particularly women, can gain access to credit and generate their own income, that could consequently address the problem of poverty.

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"The piano is kind of the hardware for the software of our programming that goes on year round, " said Zamora, who founded Sing for Hope in 2006 with fellow opera singer Monica Yunus, launching the first piano festival in partnership with British artist Luke Jerram in 2010 when 60 pianos were featured.

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