The World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu) and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) have announced ‘One World Through Cooperative Finance’ as the theme for the 76th International Credit Union (ICU) Day on Thursday, 17 October.
First celebrated in 1948, ICU Day offers the world’s 82,000 credit unions and other co-operative financial institutions an opportunity to celebrate their collective achievements.
“International Credit Union Day is about unity. It is about uniting our global credit union movement together,” said Mike Reuter, WFCU president.
Woccu and WFCU are encouraging credit unions around the world to join the celebrations in a number of ways, including through the purchase of #ICUDay2024 pins, which will go towards WFCU’s fundraising target of $500,000.
“The ICU Day pins we are offering for donations to WFCU both help unify all layers of our global credit union movement, while inviting everyone to play a role in growing Woccu and WFCU’s mission of advancing financial inclusion worldwide,” said Reuter.
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Other promotional materials are also being made available, such as downloadable ICU Day 2024 posters and logos, as well as guides on how to educate the public about the credit union difference.
Participating credit unions can share their activity on social media with #ICUDay2024, for Woccu and WFCU to share on their platforms throughout the week.
#ICUDay2024 pins, as well as other “One World Through Cooperative Finance” merchandise will be available to buy from the Woccu website from 12 August. The pins were also on sale for $15 at the 2024 World Credit Union Conference, which took place in Boston on 21-24 July.
Thomas Belekevich, WOCCU director of member services, said:
“At a time in our history when we seem increasingly divided, we hope our credit unions use the ICU Day 2024 theme to show how our movement brings people closer together through democratic, member-owned financial institutions that put people over profit.”