It was an event that everyone who was anyone wanted to be a part of: a peace summit, in Atlanta, that would draw Nobel laureates and humanitarian organizations from across the world.
As one of the first major international events since the 1996 Olympics, many thought the summit would thrust Atlanta back into the global spotlight. And it made perfect sense for the city to host, as the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement with ties to three Nobel laureates: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President Jimmy Carter and micro-lending guru Muhammad Yunus.
But just months away from the November event, support for the summit appears to be unraveling. Many are laying much of the blame on the event’s lead organizer, Mohammad Bhuiyan.
Discord between Bhuiyan, CEO of Yunus Creative Lab, and Mayor Kasim Reed was made public last month when the mayor withdrew the city’s participation. Reed cited among his reasons stakeholders’ concerns about YCL’s ability to pull off the event, as well as ongoing strife with Bhuiyan.
Several notable Atlantans — among them Woodruff Arts Center CEO Virginia Hepner, Coxe Curry fundraiser Ann Cramer, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO William Pate and former Paley Center for Media President Pat Mitchell — also have decided to no longer participate.
Bhuiyan said he and Reed bumped heads because YCL rejected the mayor’s attempts to steer event planning business to a friend — a charge Reed strongly denies.
Bhuiyan, who is Bangladeshi, also believes that some of the complaints raised by others are racially motivated — adding he was told that he doesn't have "the right face" for the effort — and have nothing to do with his competency.
"My personal opinion is that, as of now, no one has been able to show any substance in terms of lack of leadership, preparation, fundraising or any other matter," Bhuiyan told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Some might have chalked up the conflict to a spat between Bhuiyan and Reed. But, in perhaps the most bizarre turn in the peace summit saga, Yunus — the Nobel laureate — also backed out, a move Bhuiyan attributed to bad press.
Yunus resigned from the namesake nonprofit that he began with Bhuiyan and Shamima Amin, Bhuiyan’s wife and the organization’s COO, saying in his April 9 resignation letter that “the management of YCL” has misrepresented his continued support of the event to the public.
It’s enough to perplex even the summit’s most ardent supporters, like Bob Hope, a longtime Atlanta public relations executive tasked with the unenviable position of speaking for a fractured organization.
“When war breaks out over a peace conference, you’ve got to really wonder what is going on,” said Hope, who is volunteering his services.
Now, local leaders are working behind the scenes to save Atlanta’s peace summit as pressure mounts on Bhuiyan to resign.
Bhuiyan said his future is up to the YCL board. He blames Reed for the current turmoil.
For his part, Reed insists he only stepped in at the urging of others. “I think it’s rare in the city of Atlanta for one individual to cause as much disruption as Dr. Bhuiyan has.”
Peace to turmoil
The idea for the Atlanta Nobel peace summit began with Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in microfinance. According to Bhuiyan, the laureate asked him and his wife — both former university administrators with years of experience in event planning — to organize the summit.
While any number of organizations can host a meeting for Nobel laureates, the trio sought and won approval from the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, a Rome and Moscow-based nonprofit that holds an annual event for Peace Prize recipients.
That organization, which is not affiliated with the Nobel Foundation nor the Norwegian Nobel Institute, announced in 2013 that Atlanta would be this year’s host.
In an October 2013 story in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Reed described the event as one of the “most important wins the city has had” during his tenure, one that will “continue to strengthen the recognition of Atlanta as one of the leading cities in the world.”
The summit’s roster quickly filled with A-Listers eager to help: Ted Turner and daughter Laura Turner Seydel; Bernice King, who is representing her father; U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson; former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn; Ambassador Andrew Young; Coca-Cola Senior Vice President Clyde Tuggle and many more.
Companies such as Coca-Cola and UPS signed on as major sponsors, with nearly $3 million raised to date, Bhuiyan said.
The trouble began late last year, when a number of participants contacted Reed’s office with wide-ranging complaints about the event’s management and preparation. Reed soon intervened.
Many people interviewed also said Bhuiyan’s personality led to problems, with supporters and critics alike describing an at-times condescending attitude that has turned some away. Bhuiyan rejected that characterization, when asked by a reporter, calling it “absolutely false.”
Documents and letters show that Bhuiyan and Reed disagree on several issues, including whether to hire an event planner as the mayor suggested, whether the millions raised should be handled by The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, and whether there is a need to restructure the summit’s management.
Bhuiyan said YCL decided not to give the job to the event planner because the nonprofit first wanted to follow a competitive bidding process, which it has since done. The Rome-based Nobel group also had concerns with the company’s prior work, Bhuiyan said.
Moving the funds to The Community Foundation was both unnecessary and costly, he argued. Right now, it’s kept — at no charge — at Atlantic Capital Bank and is under the watch of an accounting firm. By contrast, the Community Foundation charges a 5 percent fee, about $150,000, for dispersing the funds.
As for restructuring the organization, Bhuiyan said it was untenable because it would have removed his wife and marginalized his role, thus he could not monitor the spending of donor money.
In a letter to Reed, Bhuiyan accuses the mayor of damaging the event and his reputation, and hinted at litigation, which the mayor later said is “unfortunate.”
Still, the mayor isn’t the only one publicly raising concerns.
The convention bureau’s Pate, who recently resigned, described the overall business effort as “a little clumsy,” noting, “I don’t believe we should ever do something halfway. And without the city, it’s impossible to do an event like this.”
A number of locals who initially volunteered to work on digital marketing efforts said they dropped out when Bhuiyan asked them to sign over to YCL all intellectual property rights to the work they produced. To them, that signaled a lack of understanding about how the creative community makes a living.
Hope, the PR guy, chalks that up to extreme frugality — evidence of Bhuiyan’s careful stewardship of the funds raised.
"If you don't ask somebody to do something for free, they won't," he said.
The head of the Rome Nobel organization has expressed concern over the event’s leadership, as well as the city withdrawing its support. The organization issued a statement last week saying its members will vote in May on whether to allow Atlanta to continue as the official host city.
Bhuiyan, however, has noted the organization cannot prevent his group from hosting such an event.
Bhuiyan said he feels disrespected by “a few” of Atlanta’s most prominent people. He said that he and his wife have worked for two years without pay to bring the important event to Georgia.
“Shamima and I agreed to assume this huge responsibility of leading the Atlanta Summit out of our deep respect and highest admiration for [Yunus] and our love for the city of Atlanta,” wrote Bhuiyan, who first moved to Atlanta nearly 30 years ago.
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg, who worked with Bhuiyan for more than a decade on a national entrepreneurial program for historically black colleges, described him as honest and effective. The program, which drew students, business leaders and presidents of several colleges together, were always successes, he said.
Gregg acknowledged, however, that Bhuiyan’s style can be off-putting.
“He’s a very smart young man. A hard worker. He’s driven. He has very firm opinions about how best to do things and he got results,” he said, then pausing. “But he is a challenge in managing a positive relationship.”
Asked about this description, Bhuiyan said, “If you want the best results, you cannot make everybody happy.”
Despite the detractors, Bhuiyan and many in Atlanta’s top circles are determined that the summit will be a success.
A spokeswoman for President Jimmy Carter said he still plans to serve as the event’s co-host, a title he originally shared with Yunus. His grandson, former gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter, remains actively involved on the summit’s board.
A spokesman for the younger Carter said he believes the summit is a “great opportunity” for the city and state, and said that he’s working with leaders and Nobel laureates to find a path forward.
Other key players, including Atlantic Capital Bank Chairman Sonny Deriso, retired U.S. Army Gen. Larry Ellis and University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby, remain involved. Around 20 laureates have indicated interest in attending, Bhuiyan said.
Seydel, the Turner Foundation leader who said she joined the YCL board because Yunus is a longtime friend, remains hopeful.
“I have not resigned from the board. I don’t believe that would be the responsible thing to do at this point,” she said. “My hope, like Professor Yunus and so many in our community, would be that Atlanta will be the city that hosts the most important summit in the history of peace summits.”
Hope, who credits Bhuiyan with helping raise millions for the effort, acknowledges internal moves are underway to have the controversial leader step aside, or to pair him with an organization that will take the helm.
“Sometimes you have to have an earthquake before things come together,” Hope said.
Clark Dean, a real estate executive with Transwestern who has watched from the sidelines, said the irony isn’t lost on those involved.
“It’s an event convening people who have won awards for their ability to resolve the world’s most complicated issues,” he said. “We’re just trying to get a get-together together.”
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