The World Council of Credit Unions welcomed over 1,800 attendees in Gold Coast, Australia, last week. During the convention, participants networked and learned from industry experts on topics ranging from young adult membership to technology to credit union advocacy.
I'm sorry I missed it. The conference opened with World Council's legendary international flag parade, in which flag bearers wore colorful national attire to recognize each of the 48 nations in attendance. The audience also watched performances from Aboriginal dance troupe Nunukul Yuggera.
"It is meetings such as these that make us better, that help us serve our members better, that make us try to help others: People helping people," said World Council Chair Grzegorz Bierecki. "During this conference, ideas will be born and linkages will be formed that will bring tangible results — if not today, then tomorrow."
I've been thinking about the tangible results credit unions across the world achieve every day. As CU Journal has said before, it's the big events that get chronicled. A branch opening. A new headquarters. A merger.
But it's the smallest and seemingly most mundane of events that are most memorable of all. That's because the sum total of all those immeasurable "everyday" interactions with members that ultimately determine a credit union's lifespan. A branch visit. A cross-sale. A problem resolved.
CU Journal is now gearing up for our 18th annual "Day in the Life of Credit Unions" project in conjunction with International Credit Union Week. Once again, this project is exactly what the name suggests: a look at an average day in the life of a credit union, with participating CUs all shooting photos of the goings-on at their respective offices on the same day — Wednesday, Aug. 13.
'Day in the Life' Open to All
But this year there will be a couple of really big changes. Instead of inviting a select group of credit unions, we are opening up "Day in the Life" to all credit unions across the nation (and the world)!
So please consider this my personal invitation for your credit union to take photos on Aug. 13 to showcase what's happening at your institution that day. You can then submit all the images you capture on cujournal.com, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (#cujditl).
The next twist is that the CU community will be able to vote on the images they think best represent the CU spirit. The winning photos will be published online and in our annual special report this October.
This is a fantastic opportunity to document the true credit union spirit of people helping people. Whether it be a photo of your CU's staff welcoming members into the branch or a member being served in your drive-thru teller lane, take those photos on Aug. 13 and send them to us.
The theme of this year's International Credit Union Day is "Local Service. Global Good" to emphasize CUs' positive impact in their communities and around the world. I look forward to showcasing what your credit union will be doing later this month in photographs and sharing those images with the entire CU community.
Editor in Chief Marian Raab can be reached at
