Global Credit Union Sector Gather in Vancouver for the 2023 World Credit Union Conference

Friday 26 January 2024

The 2023 World Credit Union Conference kicked-off on the 23^rd July in Vancouver, Canada. This year a record 3,000 attendees have gathered from 60 different countries to connect and learn from each other.

The opening of the conference included the giving of the ‘Distinguished Service Awards’ which were presented to Oleg Lebedko, CEO of Ukrainian Federal Credit Union and former WOCCU President and CEO, Brian Branch. The opening ceremony was also highlighted by the traditional flag parade and musical performances by members of Canada’s First Nations.

The focus of the first full day of the conference was the resiliency of credit unions in the face of high inflation, regulatory changes, migration, and war. Other sessions included an international regulatory update, an address on what an ethical future looks like, and a breakout session hosted by a Ukrainian credit union executive on how to foster a resilient future for Ukraine’s credit unions. Furthermore, WOCCU presented a pair of 2023 Digital Growth Awards to the Co-operative Bank of Vietnam and Unitus Community Credit Union respectively. The awards didn’t end there, as WOCCU also announced Eleonora Zgonjanin (North Macedonia) and Patrick John Rico (Philippines) as recipients of the 2023 WOCCU Fellowship.

The conference also included WOCCU’s AGM, a talk on how to attract young new talent, the launch of the Climate Influencers Network, and how credit unions can uplift underserved communities through digital financial inclusion. In total, the conference had nearly 100 speakers and 43 keynote presentations or breakout sessions on a wide range of topics.

ABCUL CEO, Robert Kelly was in attendance and said: “I felt very fortunate to attend another World Credit Union Conference following the success of the 2022 Glasgow conference in which ABCUL co-hosted. It was an insightful few days of learning from each other and celebrating the achievements of the credit union sector internationally.”

Read the full rundown on the 2023 World Credit Union Conference here.