VANCOUVER, B.C.—The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) presented a pair of 2023 Digital Growth Awards, announced the winners of the new WOCCU Fellowship program, named new directors and more during its Annual General Meeting (AGM) during the World Credit Union Conference here.
Among the honors and announcements:
Digital Growth Award Winners
The Digital Growth Awards are for implementing digital solutions that promote financial inclusion, innovation and scalability.
Recognized were:
- Unitus Community Credit Union in Oregon received a Digital Growth Award for its “AZIE Mobile App.” Designed to connect members of Oregon’s Black community with financial products, services and education from local credit unions that best align with their unique needs, Azie aims to foster financial and housing stability while creating and sustaining generational wealth, WOCCU said.
“At Unitus, we believe that if you focus on inclusion, inspiring service and innovation, our organization, our members and our community overall will thrive and be better for it,” said Megan Snyder, VP-strategic partnerships and portfolio management, in accepting the award. “Azie was a product of those three I’s and was built to support a very special collaborative.”
- Co-operative Bank of Vietnam received a Digital Growth Award for its creation of “A Digital Ecosystem”, which “revolutionized cooperative financial services in Vietnam. The solution provides a diversity of digital channels through which a wide range of members can access products and services,” WOCCU said.
Elenita San Roque, CEO of the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU), accepted the award on behalf of Co-operative Bank of Vietnam, whose executives were unable to attend.
WOCCU Fellowship Recipients
WOCCU also announced Eleonora Zgonjanin (North Macedonia) and Patrick John Rico (Philippines) as recipients of the 2023 WOCCU Fellowship.
WOCCU noted that in April it launched the first Fellowship nominations to encourage credit union leaders under the age of 40 and women of any age to apply to serve as “observers” on the WOCCU board.
According to WOCCU, Zgonjanin and Rico were selected from a pool of 52 applicants from 12 countries. They will attend and participate in three WOCCU board meetings over a one-year period, beginning in fall of 2023. Their travel expenses, including airfare, hotel and local transportation, will be covered by WOCCU, including registration to attend the 2024 World Credit Union Conference, WOCCU added.
“As observers, they will receive all material information provided to members of the board but will not have formal voting rights during the board of directors’ meetings,” the World Council said. “They will also receive mentorship from members of the WOCCU board, or from members of the WOCCU or Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ staff.”
New Directors
During the AGM, the WOCCU board added two new directors:
- Grace Badilla López, President of the Board of Directors for Federacion Nacional de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Credito Financieras (FEDEAC) in Costa Rica Badilla López fills a vacancy left by Jaime Chavez, who steps away after representing the Colombian Federation of Credit Unions (FECOLFIN) on the Board since 2015.
- Helene McManus, a member of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) Board, to serve out the final year of fellow ILCU Board Member Charles Murphy’s term. Murphy resigned his seat on the World Council Board, effective Monday afternoon.
Delegates Re-Elected
Delegates also reelected current Director Rafał Matusiak (Poland) to a two-year term, while the board reappointed current directors Diana Dykstra (U.S.), Erin Mendez (U.S.), Linda Bowyer (Canada) and Younsik Kim (South Korea) to two-year terms.
New Direct Member Organization
The WOCCU Board last week approved the African Confederation of Cooperative Savings and Credit Association’s (ACCOSCA) promotion from an associate to a direct member of WOCCU.
“As the only pan-African credit union association representing national associations from 20 countries, direct membership will give ACCOSCA a significant number of votes at future AGMs and also qualifies the organization for a seat on the WOCCU Board—resulting in a stronger voice for Africa in WOCCU governance,” the World Council said.
ACCOSCA becomes WOCCU’s sixth direct member organization from Africa.
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