WYCUP Aims to Replicate SICREDI Youth Committees Worldwide

MADISON, Wis.—Members of the World Council Young Credit Union Professionals (WYCUP) Program aim to replicate a model for youth committees established by the largest credit union system in Brazil and expand it worldwide.

Those WYCUP representatives recently participated in World Council’s Young Professional Exchange in Curitiba, Brazil. SICREDI—a credit union system that serves more than four million members at 116 affiliated credit unions throughout Brazil—hosted its 2^nd Annual Youth Summit during the Exchange. The Summit brought the WYCUP representatives together with young credit union professionals and members who make up SICREDI Youth Committees.

Youth Committees are established at the individual credit union level. Most of the committees are made up of credit union members, with a few employees involved as coordinators. The initiative builds awareness of financial cooperatives among this important demographic to ensure the future viability of the organization, but also strengthens the relationship with young members by:

• stimulating a culture of volunteering.
• encouraging social responsibility.
• providing professional development opportunities.
• encouraging entrepreneurship and cooperativism as a tool for social and economic development.

The WYCUP representatives who attended the Youth Summit were so inspired by the active involvement of SICREDI members, they took on the challenge of finding a way to replicate the SICREDI model globally and network youth committees through the World Council.

Stacey Walker (left) at the SICREDI Youth Summit

“In order to maintain relevance, credit unions need to look for new ways to not only attract young talent to work for them—but also to increase awareness and attract younger members,” said Stacey Walker, who sits on the Board of Directors for XCEL Federal Credit Union.

Walker is among several WYCUP members now involved in a 90-day challenge to develop a toolkit that all credit unions can use to implement such youth committees.

“These youth committees have the potential to redefine the way young people perceive their credit unions. As we plant the seeds for credit unions to create their own youth committees—we will be working with state leagues and national associations to create the structure that networks them with their global peers,” said Thomas Belekevich, World Council program manager for member services. “With our local focus and global impact, we look to a future where credit unions inspire young people to come together, collaborate and demonstrate the credit union difference during an annual Global Youth Summit.”

World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development platform for credit unions. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.

World Council has implemented 300+ technical assistance programs in 90 countries. Worldwide, 87,914 credit unions in 118 countries serve 393 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.

Contact: Greg Neumann
Organization: World Council of Credit Unions
E-mail: gneumann@woccu.org
Phone: +1 608-395-2048

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