OTTAWA, Canada The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) World CU Conference kicked off here Sunday with some 2,400 people from 60 countries in attendance.
The meeting is being held just a very short walk from where Canadian Alphonse Desjardins, a stenographer working for Canada’s Parliament, slightly more than 100 years ago attempted to introduce national legislation for credit unions in Canada. That effort failed, but as Dan Burns, chair of Credit Union Central of Canada reminded, Desjardins would go on to Quebec to found the credit union movement that today bears his name.
Scott Kennedy, second vice chair with Credit Union Central, told the meeting in his opening remarks that credit unions are “dedicated to financially empowering people from Peru to Poland to Papua New Guinea and all points in between. We have gathered to once again to celebrate our cooperative commitment and the good work we do behalf of the people we serve. We exist for one purpose only to financially empower and enrich the lives of our members around the globe.”
The meeting is to run through Thursday night.
