ICU Day 2004 An International Success!

l-r: Nicole Bice, WOCCU Latin American program specialist; William Bonilla, WOCCU CPD manager; Adriana McAllister, CFO, Deposit Guarantee Fund for Financial Co-operatives - FOGACOOP (Colombia); Jorge Bermudez Salazar, FOGACOOP take time from the World Council ICU Day celebrations to pose for photo

The World Council of Credit Unions headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, was buzzing with activity on October 21, as staff and guests celebrated International Credit Union. The main event was a visit by representatives from Colombia's Deposit Guarantee Fund for Financial Cooperatives (FOGACOOP), general director Jorge Bermudez and chief financial officer Adriana McAllister.

WOCCU hosted an extensive potluck lunch for their guests, featuring dishes from around the world prepared by World Council's employees. To add to the festivities, staff members were encouraged to dress in ethnic garb. The traditional clothing styles of Mexico, the Republic of Georgia, Africa, Jamaica, Spain and other nations were represented, and prizes were awarded to those who dressed up. The WOCCU Washington, DC office celebrated ICU Day by participating in a joint event with the Credit Union National Association on Capitol Hill. Click to view

Around the world, credit unions and leagues found creative ways of their own to celebrate ICU Day. Some held youth-oriented activities, such as the Fiji Nursing and Associates Credit Union's launch of their new "Minors Membership" program, which opens the credit union to young savers, or the Castlemilk Credit Union in Scotland's sponsoring of a new play area for children. Others chose to honor credit union leaders of the past, like the Scottish League of Credit Unions' dinner for the late credit union leader Bert Mullen, or host volunteer opportunities, like the Empire Corporate Federal Credit Union's annual blood drive.

Luncheons and dinners were common, as were radio and newspaper publicity. The response to all these activities was overwhelmingly positive, making members feel connected to their credit union community and the larger movement. As a representative from the Welsh credit union Caia Park reported, "Many [members] had no idea that they were part of such a large movement!" To see how other credit unions celebrate International Credit Union Day visit the WOCCU website at www.woccu.org/icuday.

El Consejo Mundial de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito es la asociación gremial y agencia de desarrollo para el sistema internacional de cooperativas de ahorro y crédito. El Consejo Mundial promueve el crecimiento sustentable de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y otras cooperativas financieras en todo el mundo a fin de facultar a las personas para que mejoren su calidad de vida a través del acceso a servicios financieros asequibles y de alta calidad. El Consejo Mundial realiza esfuerzos de defensa activa en representación del sistema global de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito ante organizaciones internacionales y trabaja con gobiernos nacionales para mejorar la legislación y la regulación. Sus programas de asistencia técnica introducen nuevas herramientas y tecnologías para fortalecer el desempeño financiero de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y profundizar su alcance comunitario.

El Consejo Mundial ha implementado 290 programas de asistencia técnica en 71 países. A nivel mundial, 51,000 cooperativas de ahorro y crédito en 100 países atienden a 196 millones de personas. Obtenga más información sobre el impacto global del Consejo Mundial en www.woccu.org.