The Delegates of Asian credit unions participated in a CEO Workshop and Supervisor Conference hosted by The Association of Asia Confederation of Credit Unions (“ACCU”) at the NACUFOK office and Jeju’s Ramada Hotel from March 9th to 13th. Twenty-one persons attended, including Mr. Chalermpol Dulsamphant, ACCU Chairman and Chairman of the Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives of Thailand (“FSCT”), along with CEOs from 13 countries (1 from Laos, 1 from Nepal, 2 from Bangladesh, 2 from Sri Lanka, 1 from Taiwan, 3 from Thailand, 3 from Indonesia, 3 from the Philippines, 1 from Canada, 1 from Australia, 1 from the U.S., 1 from Malaysia and 1 from Japan). The programs focused on sharing information related to the supervisory systems in different countries. Credit unions and the supervisors of organizations related to Asian cooperatives were invited to the event, to exchange information on credit union supervisory systems in Korea and advanced nations, such as the U.S. and Australia, and seek ways to introduce these systems to the credit unions in developing Asian countries. NACUFOK has been inviting the leaders of Asian credit unions and sharing the expertise and management techniques of Korean credit unions for 28 years to help its counterparts in Asia grow together. It covers the entire cost of participants’ stay in Korea. The Asian Credit Union CEO Workshop is well received as it transfers a variety of Korea’s excellent management examples including its supervisory system, the Credit Unions Act, its organizational structure, training center, IT center, promotion techniques, and management support programs, etc.
NACUFOK hosted the Korean CU’s 55th Anniversary Ceremony and International Symposium at the ICC Hotel Convention Hall in Daejeon, on October 13th. About 400 persons participated, including the executives of the Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (“ACCU”), the executives of North American credit unions (the U.S., Canada, etc.), Mr. Junkyung Kim, the president of Korea Development Institute, and NACUFOK employees. The theme of the international symposium was, “Seeking Ways to Ensure Sustainability for the Credit Union Movement,” and it invited participants to share the experience and expertise of North American credit unions for Korea’s credit unions to engage in internal dialogue and set an orientation for the future. Dan Hein, CEO of the Alaska Airlines Credit Union, Chris Dobrzanski, Chief Economist for Canada’s Vancity Credit Union and CEO of Citizen Bank and Carla Altepeter, CEO of Numerica Credit Union in the U.S. gave topic presentations. With this symposium initiating the opportunity, NACUFOK will engage in various international exchange programs to study the strengths of credit unions in advanced countries and introduce management ideas, products, services and financial techniques to develop credit unions in Korea.
NACUFOK provided medical services in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city, together with Korean Open Doctors Society for the 3 days from July 28th to 30th. Forty-five persons from CU Volunteers, a volunteer group under NACUFOK, the Mongolian credit union association and medical staff from the Korean Open Doctors Society participated, and provided 1,500 residents of Ulaanbaatar’s Bayahosho district with free medical services. Considering the district is a poor village mainly populated by nomads, the services offered included internal medicine, pediatrics, orthopedics, dentistry and oriental medicine, all very well-received by local residents. In addition to medical services, NACUFOK also donated stationery items, such as pencils and crayons, etc., to the Center Pole Kindergarten, managed by a group of Korean nuns. For 3 days last July in 2014, NACUFOK provided medical services to people in Tacloban City, the Philippines, and visited the area in Nepal hit by a destructive earthquake and donated relief supplies worth about KRW 100 million to NEFSCUN, including clothes, toiletries, and noodles in June this year. In addition to this activity in Mongolia, NACUFOK has shared warmth through its employees wherever disaster has occurred, such as in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Philippines.
The 2015 World Council of Credit Unions Conference was held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado for 4 days from July 12th (local time). This conference was attended by 3,150 persons from 65 countries and was the largest in its history. The theme of the Forum was “Strengthening the Competitiveness of Credit Unions in the 21st Century.” Credit unions have become financial cooperatives with a collective total of more than 200 million members in 150 countries and with some 50,000 branch offices around the world. For the 4 days, keynote speeches, discussions on how credit unions will change in the 21st century and some 30 sub-topical forums were held to discuss ways for credit unions to achieve sustainable development, growth strategies to be achieved by attracting people in their 20s and 30s to become members, credit union payment systems, trends in international credit union management and related laws and policies. During this year’s forum, plans were intensively discussed on expanding the roles of credit unions that stepped into the spotlight especially after the global financial crisis. Meanwhile, in a speech during the opening ceremony, Mr. Grzegorz Bierecki, WOCCU Chairman, congratulated the participants in an attention-grabbing manner. He threw out the question “What is the most appropriate economic structure for the current EU and globalization?” His answer was that “Capitalism as it is cannot be the answer. We need an alternative in which more economic entities can participate.” He continued to say “Credit unions have more than 200 million members in 150 countries and are already leading in advanced financial trends as financial cooperatives. This year’s conference will become an icon of integration that creates not only economic independence but also harmony between global citizens regardless of region, culture or religion.”