TURIN, Italy–A number of credit union associations from around the globe are part of a group of international organizations that are working to develop a new learning tool for so-called “second and third-degree financial co-operatives.”
While financial co-operatives represent 10% of all co-operatives in the world, they account for 27% of all co-operative employees and 65% of all co-operative member-customers, according to TheNews.coop. The training program, called My.Financial.coop, is aimed at second and third-tier organizations of financial co-operatives, which provide technical assistance and training to financial co-ops.
TheNews.coop reported that the organizations involved earlier came together in Turin, Italy to set out the draft curriculum design of MyFinancial.Coop. The workshop featured 18 participants from 12 organizations involved in the development of the training program. At the meeting they reviewed the curriculum design outline, presented by the Irish league of Credit Unions.
The proposed curriculum includes three modules: Co-operative Apex Organizations; Apex support for Sustainability and Development of Personnel of Financial Co-operatives; and Policy Processes.
Participants have also set up a core team to continue leading the work around the development of the training course, consisting of the International Labour Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and ILO’s International Training Centre. Pilot schemes are expected to be underway in countries, including Zambia and Kenya, according to TheNews.coop.
Other organizations involved in the project include ILCU, the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU), the National Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks’ Federation Ltd. (NAFCARD, India), the Credit Union Foundation of Australia (CUFA), the Teachers Savings and Loan Society Ltd of Papua New Guinea (GIZ), Cassa Padana of Italy, Federcasse of Italy and KUSCCO of Kenya.