MADISON, Wis.— The World Council of Credit Unions’ Global Women’s Leadership Network has named its 2015 Empowerment Grant winners.
The winners are Kruewan Chonalanai, executive director of Credit Union Development Institute at the Credit Union League of Thailand; Eleonora Zgonjanin Petrovic, CEO of FULM Saving House of Macedonia, and Juliet C. Rawlinson, microfinance manager at Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative in the Philippines. The Network said it will support the women in increasing financial literacy worldwide.
"The Global Women's Leadership Network is about helping women make a difference in the lives of each other, their members and their communities," said Brian Branch, World Council president and CEO. "The Empowerment Grants allow members of the Network to do so by volunteering in the field to help these women make that difference."
Each spring the Network offers scholarships to encourage emerging female credit union leaders to attend the annual World Credit Union Conference. This year's applicants were required to include project proposals to improve access to credit, loans, savings and leadership opportunities for women in their communities. Scholars presented their project proposals to Network members and sponsors at the Leadership Forum in Denver in July. Network members were able to ask questions, volunteer their expertise and suggest improvements before voting on the project of their choice.
Chonalanai's project aims to increase Thailand's engagement and awareness in the Network by setting up a social media platform and translation service. The Network intends to replicate this model in other countries where language barriers prevent women from accessing it.
"It will be a collaborative method which draws on the expertise of Network members worldwide, the support of our local Sister Societies in Thailand, the Philippines and Nepal, and the help of the team at the Credit Union Development Institute and the Thai League's Women's Chapter Committee," Chonalanai said. "Together we will be able to share the benefits of the Network with our local cooperatives and encourage more women into leadership roles."
Rawlinson is the officer in charge for the Business Development Center and Services (BDS), a result of the 2014 Empowerment Grant project of Elenita San Roque, CEO of the Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions. Rawlinson intends to support a higher number of female entrepreneurs, provide specified training for women in rural communities and increase the sustainability of the BDS, according to WOCCU.
"Winning the empowerment grant is a great honor," Rawlinson said. "Through it we can better help the community and enhance services to the less fortunate. With the support of the Network, we will break down barriers for rural women, ignite their entrepreneurial spirit, and show there is hope for changing lives from the bottom to the top.”
Zgonjanin Petrovic plans to initiate a corporate exchange program through her credit union that will draw on Network support and expertise to develop a communication strategy for financially excluded women and youth in Macedonia.
"Attending the World Credit Union Conference was a wonderful learning experience and a long term investment for FULM," said Zgonjanin Petrovic, who is eager to implement Network members' suggestions for growth strategies and the latest information technology.